Is this our future ‘real’ government?
It’s the first day of autumn, the meteorological one that is, and there’s an autumnal nip in the air. It’s also the day when people ought to be back in their offices, pupils in schools and life generally returning to a semblance of ‘normal’. That however won’t be happening. What we’ll find in the coming months is that we’re sliding into what I can only describe as ‘health nanny state’ where ‘Our NHS’ decides how we have to live our lives. That’s apparently just what people clamour for.
First, let’s look at these two items: flu jabs won’t be available for everyone until December and the NHS will put obese people on a strict diet. That must be serious because several online papers have this new on their homepage. Here’s a quote from the paywalled Times:
“A diet of soups and shakes will be provided by the NHS for type 2 diabetes patients from today after studies showed that it reversed the condition in nearly half of cases. The food will be prescribed to 5,000 patients for three months and include “total diet replacement products”, such as specially formulated low-calorie shakes and soups. The regime restricts them to 800 calories a day. The national scheme, described by the NHS as “life-changing”, comes after trials showed that dramatic weight loss had led to diabetes going into remission.” (link, paywalled)
The point is that the NHS ‘will provide’ this diet – that is, we’ll pay for it. The research for this approach was published in 2017. Why GPs weren’t telling their patients to go and do it since then – well, who knows! Perhaps ‘patients’ feel they cannot afford to fast, never mind that one can’t eat food when one hasn’t bought it, and that surely such strict diet means one must not buy other food. Perhaps it’s because without the sanction of ‘Our NHS’ no-one is allowed to look after their own health by themselves?
Now see the other item: flu jabs. This was first published in the DT yesterday evening. The Times just copied some of it and then appended a long piece on CV-19 vaccine, with a ‘dramatic’ outlook by one of those involved in vaccine research, copied from the Independent. If you need your daily dose of fear, here it is:
“Greater population density, greater travel, deforestation — all of these things make it more likely that these outbreaks will happen and then something will spread,” Professor Gilbert told The Independent yesterday.” (link, paywalled)
Well, that’s not precisely an earth-shaking ‘discovery’! It has been written about in the then niche segments of ‘science’ in ‘Our MSM’ who were far more concerned with ‘Climate’ and how we’re all gonna die. But back to the flu jab, as reported in the DT – just savour the wording:
“Ministers have promised “the biggest flu vaccination programme in history” in a bid to ensure the NHS can cope if it is hit by a “double whammy” of flu and Covid this winter. They pledged to expand the programme to half the population, with healthy over 50s offered a jab, as well as pensioners, those with underlying health conditions, and young children. But now patients have been told it is likely that they will have to wait until December for the jab – despite the fact the flu season may well start earlier, and amid fears of a second wave of Covid.” (paywalled link)
Omigawd – ‘ministers promised’, and now they’re not keeping their promise, how dreadful! Are we supposed to stomp our little feet, like toddlers, wailing that “we” aren’t getting what was ‘promised”? Where’s the cry that ‘it’s not fair!’?
Do the various ‘health and science’ correspondents never look into their own archives? When government proposed to extend their flu jab programme because of Covid, it was pointed out in numerous articles that there weren’t sufficient jabs available because the annual contingent had already been ordered. ‘Our NHS’, we were told, would scour the world markets to get more.
I can only surmise that ‘Our NHS’, where those procurement managers must’ve been blissfully working from home, didn’t do their job properly – what a surprise! They did so well providing masks, PPE, tests, labs, didn’t they! Not! Next, see how the reasonable ‘government guidance’ is being spun into ‘but they promised’-outcries:
“The government guidance goes on to suggests that flu jabs may not be offered to healthy patients aged 50 to 64 at all. It says only that for this group, the vaccinations “might” be offered – “following prioritisation of other eligible groups and subject to vaccine supply”. The Royal College of GPs on Monday night urged the Government to provide assurances about whether there are actually sufficient vaccines to provide an expanded programme.” (paywalled link)
Terrible, isn’t it, that government guidance suggests priorities ought to be set. How outrageous – and never mind that ‘Our NHS’ does just that when allocating hip replacements. Moreover, it seems that those doctors, just as the obese, cannot do anything unless ‘government’ tells them what they can and ought to do. Never mind that weeks ago they could’ve have found out about supply shortages, just as we peasants have. Of course, we must be treated to an ‘example’ taken from ‘real life’:
“One diabetes patient, aged 63, received a text message from Bounds Green Group Practice in North London, this weekend, stating: “The government have increased the age range of those entitled to the flu vaccination to include those of 50 years and over. Due to availability of vaccines, the vaccinations for this group will likely commence in December.” The message also ordered patients not to ring the surgery to make any enquiries about the matter “as this places additional pressure on our phone lines”.” (paywalled link)
Lovely, isn’t it: blame ministers because: “promises!”, but don’t touch GPs who are still hiding inside their surgeries! When will the Royal Colleges of GPs and the rest, when will the BMA tell their members to stop being so frit and start seeing patients face-to-face again! There was enough time to make surgeries ‘covid-proof’. Perhaps that was too expensive? After all, ‘cash-strapped heads‘ are having to pay £216m to make schools ‘safe’, according to the Daily Mirror, as reported by the BC in their daily ‘Newspaper Headlines’ column (link). Ain’t that dreadful?
Given the proposed tax rises which haven’t even seen the light-of-day but were leaked over the Bank Holiday weekend, it’s no surprise that various entities are already screaming for ‘more cash’. I do wonder if and why school heads were unable to get some government covid-money. Staying with money – there’s a curious little report in the DT, detailing the sums paid by the dept of Justice to translators:
“Ministry of Justice officials spent £23.4 million between April 2019 and March 2020 for a total of 143 different dialects, […] Most of the money is spent providing expert assistance to foreign-speaking crime suspects, who need legal papers translated and then require an interpreter for their trial proceedings. This year’s bill for translating legal cases increased eight per cent on the figure of £21.6 million for the previous 12 months between April 2018 and March 2019. Much of the spending was on Polish, Lithuanian and Romanian speakers. There were also big spends on Bengali, Punjabi and Urdu speakers.” (paywalled link)
The DT ponders if this is due to case numbers having gone up or to translators charging more. That deportation would be a cheap and easy solution is of course unmentionable. A quick search on t’webz shows that ‘Our NHS’ spent a total of £64.4 million on translation services in the last three financial years. Well, we have the money, being ‘a rich country’!
To round this up, suddenly up pops the Foreign Secretary, who must have been in hiding for the last month at the very least, declaring he won’t allow the Foreign Aid Budget to be cut. But – did he really? See for yourselves:
“He is expected to push back against leaked plans to abandon the UK’s legal commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on international aid, thought to be under consideration by Treasury officials. Mr Raab will reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the 0.7 per cent figure, which is also a Conservative manifesto pledge, sources said. […] The suggestion that aid could be axed is thought to have come from Treasury civil servants, rather than from Rishi Sunak, a Government source suggested. Foreign Office officials are confident the Chancellor will not support the plans on Budget day in November.” (paywalled link)
Ah – so it’s only ‘sources’, only mandarins trying to preempt their minister! Treasury and FO mandarins are going public, fighting for ‘their’ money, before their ministers have even sat down at their desks after the summer holidays!
I leave you with the suggestion to take a look at this morning’s LockdownSceptics where the ‘orrible rise in Cv-19 infections in countries such as Spain and France is charted, together with the number of CV-19 deaths. It’s rather amazing … but let’s not mention this!
Meanwhile, “we” must behave like little kids who wail because ministers don’t keep their promise while the lovely Nanny that is ‘Our NHS’ will feed us soup to make us thin because “we” are too stupid to do this ourselves.
I wonder if all those who believe muzzle-wearing will save them and the country from Covid, who keep declaring that muzzle refuseniks shouldn’t even be treated should they catch the virus, will now demand that the obese must slim down on that NHS starvation diet before being given treatment.That would only be fair! Brave New Nanny NHS World …
KBO!
Vaccinations should be given ONLY with the INFORMED CONSENT of the recipient.
How can children give INFORMED CONSENT?
A lady with a National Health Service certificate of Bollocks.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1298754235002228737
“Nanny State” was not so bad in her youth. Now, in her miserable dotage she, and her acolytes, still believes that if she wags her gnarled old finger at us and says, “”Nanny” says…”, that we will all run to do her bidding…
A year or so back,some “experts” did a bit of research into the health of the Nation.
To their surprise, they discovered that we were healthier back in the 40s and early 50s when food was rationed.
A wonderful elderly neighbour, a long retired district nurse, said, “..but of course. The greedy could not get too much. We ate what was available and in season. Mothers could cook, families sat round a table to eat, the only “fast food” was fish ‘n’ chips, and children played out of doors, instead of sitting glued to a computer playing electronic games.”
in a similar vein; I had a dog diagnosed with diabetes. My vet equipped me with a syringe, the insulin and a box of test papers. Every morning,when she was let out for a pee, I followed with a paper strip to be held in the pee-stream. She found it embarrassing. The resulting colour determined the size of the insulin dose.
One day, I was collecting the regular all-ln-one dried dog food at the local agricltural store. On that occasion I was served by the manager himself, a sensible farm-bred lad.
“What do you want that stuff for”, he asked.
“The dogs like it”,I replied.
“Of course they do. It’s stuffed with all sorts of horrible additives to MAKE them like it. You want to try “Chappie”. A good old-fashioned one… and it’s cheaper.”
So I did. No complaints from the dogs, and within two days the patients insulin requirements halved. My vet was interested too.
My point is, that when we buy packaged food from a supermarket we are also buying all sorts of “extras”; look at the list of ingredients. Our digestive systems are not designed to cope with all these strange chemicals… even if they have been “approved” by the EU. We are slowly poisoning ourselves.
Finally; so many people,faced with the problems of life, which includes the near impossibility of getting anyone in authority to listen to real people’s real problems, let alone actually doing anything to help, turn to food for comfort.
Comfort eating becomes a way of life…
THAT is very interesting Richard Mawdsley. An old fashioned vet who was also a farmer once recommended Chappie for my dog. Her’s was a different problem but we did sort it. That was the dog that lived to 17yrs if I remember right.
Yes, of course we were healthier when food was rationed. I’ve seen that proved before and it is common sense anyway.
It was a midwife who first told me what was wrong with the NHS. That was in the late 1970’s. She said it was overburdened by Administrators preventing the people doing their job from doing it how it should be done. I’m sure that has got worse and worse.
Bureaucrats, bureaucrats everywhere and not a drop of common sense.
Just a thought. I wonder if all the delays and false starts pertaining to our departure from the EU might have had something to do with the US election. Could not having Trump in the White House ahead of things being finalised here affect the final outcome?
I really do not know what the science is supposed to be telling us. It’s all over bar UN and WHO and Dianne Abbott
I would have said its all over and now in the textbooks. WHO etc will announce a triumph.. Donald Trump appears to be the only supporter of the Chinese or Swedish ( Both OK ) . answer. Which worked, and was obvious in February.. This was obvious. And the economic effects dire and still to come un noticed by seemingly anybody.. We need a couple more leaders like Trump. I had hopes for Australia . But there are too many Liberal/socialists there now.
It is my belief that this is the beginning of an immense upheaval with China and African( Muslim ) political power dominant and suported BY things like UN WTO and WHO. we hope that the economic system changes first.
Britain is one of the few countries in the world who can do this. We are not too small or too big.We are aware of the future boundaries and are small and flexible enough, clever and innovative and can change and develope in response with properly privately educated leaders of many kinds. We, in what they call the West ( Include India ) hope and might survive as a country./ civilisation.
Why would anybody want to destroy the civilisation of Ozymandias, even though all he left us was a couple of feet. …Unmasked.
He left us a signpost.
What I am trying to do is chart the likely most likely in the short term and then the big movements in the long term. Trying to isolate the Big unstoppables from the Short term main drivers.
One of the short term drivers is CV19 and the effect on Brexit and the health of GB and EU afterwards..
I consider Boris Heads down below the parapet to be totally completely and undeniably necessary. What the treasurey does for six months is not important. It can be mended. It has to be to secure a place in the futures ( Which the EU still unrealistically hopes for ) Where significant balanceing will be needed.
The biggest threat our country will face is from within , namely the Civil Service. The battle for power between the CS and legislature, Caused and fomented by the BBC and newspaper magnates has to be ritualised again. The Civil Service is our strength But equally so are the Commons law making, and the HoL cold , and experienced consideration.
I assume the tech. media will have a small part which I suppose has to be considered on the basis of pure volume. A bit like the Mobs of Ancient Rome. A Useful communication, or if you want to set fire to something.
But to be significant, we need overhaul , huge and no sillynesses. Boris hashad a shock, but when he comes out the other side he can see and has experiencedtwo side and is possible. ( Hag May and others were just inferior.)
Anyway that is what I think today.
BY the way. COVID is over, finished. Kaput. Relegated to being another flu, and doctors can look out for it. Test and trace :- good practice for the future variations. Sure. OK.
And then there’s the Commonwealth. And Following EU breakup, the offered Commonwealth of Europe After all, we all have the same royal family, and they’re not particularly onerous.
Nanny state or Communism and it’s spreading around the world. Another video that someone sent me from New Zealand.
“Communism in Aotearoa NZ 2020”
https://youtu.be/jGgsv8ycA0I