David Hockney has been talking to the BBC about the UK’s smoking ban: he’s not a fan, and suggests that there ought to be “smoking rooms” available. It’s not the first time that he’s gone public in his opposition to the ban – a few years ago he was interviewed on the Today programme and […]
Category: Politics
DNA Databases and Crime… part 34
The New Scientist this week is running a series of short articles on how to make the world a better place. One of the suggestions is to legalise drugs – I’ve blogged about why this is a good idea before (and Ben Goldacre has a nice account of why we haven’t done it already). Another […]
Mental Illness – even if it’s Gordon Brown’s – is not Interesting.
Dependably right-wing blogger Paul “Guido Fawkes” Staines has been circulating the idea that Gordon Brown may be taking anti-depressants – specifically, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors – under the touching and understanding heading “Is Brown Bonkers?” and making some sniggering schoolboy allusions to Malcolm Tucker-like tantrums. This allegation – and quite why it’s an allegation is beyond me […]
And Justice (and Healthcare) for All
A convicted double murderer has won the right to have cosmetic surgery to remove a birthmark on the NHS. Good. Predictably, the foaming-at-the-mouth brigade is having a field day with this in the comments section of the Daily Fail‘s coverage. Equally predictably, they’re wrong. The reason is straightforwardly to do with considerations of rights and […]
Oooops!
You may have heard last week about the Microsoft advert running in Poland that had been… um… how can I put it?… ethnically re-envisioned (and badly, too: even I could Photoshop an image more convincingly, and I’m like a blind monkey with scissors). And Ford got into trouble a few years ago for doing something similar. […]
Healthcare costs: NHS vs US.
At risk of flogging a dead horse, there’s still quite a lot being said about the NHS as a comparator for American healthcare. With that in mind, there’s an interesting little piece on Liberal Conspiracy at the moment comparing the UK and US systems in terms of cost per head. Do these numbers, and what’s […]
The NHS: It’s Great.
Further to David’s post about the absurd claims spouted about Stephen Hawking and the NHS by some opponents of healthcare reform in the US, it would appear that the man himself has decided to put his side of things. “I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS,” he told The Guardian. […]
Rhetoric Fail
By David Hunter Thom Brooks on facebook has pointed out this hilarious rhetorical fact checking fail from Neo-conservatives debating the public provision of health care in the US: […]
Coroners Bill Amendement thrown out.
Lord Falconer’s amendment to the Coroners Bill, which would have made specific legal provision for those helping others to travel to places like Dignitas, was rejected by the House of Lords last night. Oh, well. As Falconer admits, it’s not obvious that it’ll make all that much difference on the ground, because few, if any, […]
Letter on Dignitas and the Coroners Bill
Rowan Williams, Vincent Nichols and Jonathan Sacks wrote to the Telegraph on Tuesday to voice opposition to the Coroners and Justice Bill currently making its way through Parliament. They allege that the amendment dealing with assisted suicide introduced by Lord Falconer (and reproduced here, on the Dignity in Dying website) is a step on the […]