I told you, don't ask. It's not good for your health. Blood pressure.... Best
Simon On 20/03/2011 21:53, "Alan Sondheim" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > This is a horror show; how could this go through? In the US, healthcare is > an atrocity, a war against its own citizens, bankrupting the middle class > poor. People sometimes have to choose between medicine and food. There's > no excuse for this in the US where 1% now control 90% (I thought that was > an exaggeration, but it's not). I could tell you horror stories about > friends of mine who have had cancer and died literally in their own shit, > about people unable to get proper treatment - ever, etc. Even though I'm > eligible for medicare - it costs an addition $5000 year just to make the > coverage functional at all. How can they do this in England? How can they > get away with it? The universities are another case in point; at one time, > California had the best system in the country - now they charge so much a > lot of people can't afford to go and professors are furloughed. > > It makes me furious watching these things develop world-wide, as the rich > get fatter and fatter and better enclaved, and the poor are left to fend > for themselves, without resources and often without hope. > > - Alan > > On Sun, 20 Mar 2011, Simon Biggs wrote: > >> Don't ask Alan. >> >> The new Con-Dem government are privatising everything. They do not >> necessarily call it that, but it is that in all but name. >> >> The NHS, for example, will no longer be funded directly but through >> consortiums of health service purchasers - mostly large private companies of >> GP's but also other private gatekeepers. A number of private US health firms >> are queuing up to come into that market. The NHS will be there but as a >> provider of service to these companies. Further to that, private primary >> providers will be able to compete with the NHS and doctors's groups will be >> required to put services out to competitive tender. The NHS will not be a >> monopoly. That is effective privatisation on the US model. >> >> In English higher education the government is withdrawing all funding for >> taught provision. Students will be charged the full cost of their course >> (about ?8000/year on average). The student can choose to borrow the fee from >> the State and then repay it with interest on graduation. This breaks the >> link between State funding agencies and the Universities, at least in >> respect of teaching. Research will still be directly funded - although there >> are questions as to what will happen in the future. >> >> In Scotland it is a bit different. Scotland does not raise its own taxes >> (that is done in London) and government income is calculated as a proportion >> of UK tax. The allocation for Scottish higher education has been cut by the >> same amount as in England (40%). Scotland doesn't have fees and has no >> mechanism to make up that lost revenue. We have an election in a few weeks >> and neither of the parties that could win will consider fees. It would be >> political suicide. There will be a shortfall in Scottish higher education >> funding and there is currently no solution. It is only a matter of months >> till this budget kicks in. The most likely outcome is a big cut in the >> number of students and a lot of unemployed academics (we have no tenure in >> the UK). >> >> Best >> >> Simon >> >> >> On 20/03/2011 16:31, "Alan Sondheim" <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> Hi Simon, >>> >>> I'm not sure why US law would hold, since the census would be within UK >>> and subject to UK laws. But it's shocking that this has been delegated to >>> any private/commercial company; the whole point of the census is >>> demographic neutrality. Is this part of a general privatization of >>> functions like these? What about the health-care system for example? >>> >>> Thanks, Alan >>> >>> >>> On Sun, 20 Mar 2011, Simon Biggs wrote: >>> >>>> The census use to be government run in the UK but they asked for sensitive >>>> information that could be used against you. I understand its value for >>>> planning and consider some aspects of it valid. When I was in Australia I >>>> always filled it in. At that time they didn't ask about things I find >>>> difficult now. The UK have now decided to use a US company, and a dodgy one >>>> at that, making the issue more difficult. Firstly, the data will be >>>> collected and processed by a military organisation and, secondly, US law >>>> might override UK law and require disclosure, making a mockery of the UK's >>>> data protection systems. >>>> >>>> Best >>>> >>>> Simon >>>> >>>> >>>> On 20/03/2011 16:08, "Alan Sondheim" <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> In the US, the census is government run; Azure worked for them this year. >>>>> It's important for people to fill the stuff out, since funding and votes >>>>> depend on it. Oddly, othodox Jews resisted. >>>>> >>>>> - Alan >>>>> >>>>> On Sun, 20 Mar 2011, Simon Biggs wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> I ignored the last one and will ignore this one. I'm a private citizen. >>>>>> >>>>>> Best >>>>>> >>>>>> Simon >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On 20/03/2011 12:50, "list|marianne" <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Resistance to the decennial census is growing as a coalition of anti-war >>>>>>> groups, pacifists, religious organisations and digital activists begin >>>>>>> raising public awareness about the role of Lockheed Martin, America's >>>>>>> largest arms manufacturer. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> The company, which makes Trident nuclear missiles, cluster bombs and >>>>>>> F-16 >>>>>>> fighter jets, won the ?150m contract to run the census on behalf of the >>>>>>> Office for National Statistics (ONS). >>>>>>> >>>>>>> "The really worrying thing is the fact that the information being >>>>>>> collected >>>>>>> in the next census ? including new questions on sources of income and >>>>>>> place >>>>>>> of birth [to help monitor immigration] ? would be ideal fodder for the >>>>>>> kind >>>>>>> of anti-terror analyses being carried out by Lockheed, and could lead to >>>>>>> a >>>>>>> faraway database identifying thousands of us as potential 'threats'." >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Lockheed Martin ? which does 80% of its work for the US defence >>>>>>> department >>>>>>> ? >>>>>>> assists more than two dozen American government agencies and is involved >>>>>>> in >>>>>>> surveillance and data processing for the CIA and FBI. It has >>>>>>> controversially >>>>>>> provided private contract interrogators to the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq >>>>>>> and >>>>>>> Guant?namo Bay in Cuba. All US-based companies are subject to the >>>>>>> Patriot >>>>>>> Act, which allows the US government to have access to any data in the >>>>>>> company's possession. Campaigners have warned this could give the US >>>>>>> government access to detailed and personal data on the UK's entire >>>>>>> population. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/19/census-boycott-lockheed-martin >>>>>>> >>>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>>> NetBehaviour mailing list >>>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>>> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Simon Biggs >>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>> http://www.littlepig.org.uk/ >>>>>> >>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>> http://www.elmcip.net/ >>>>>> http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> NetBehaviour mailing list >>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> == >>>>> email archive: http://sondheim.rupamsunyata.org/ >>>>> webpage http://www.alansondheim.org >>>>> music archive: http://www.espdisk.com/alansondheim/ >>>>> current text http://www.alansondheim.org/qx.txt >>>>> == >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> NetBehaviour mailing list >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Simon Biggs >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://www.littlepig.org.uk/ >>>> >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://www.elmcip.net/ >>>> http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> NetBehaviour mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> == >>> email archive: http://sondheim.rupamsunyata.org/ >>> webpage http://www.alansondheim.org >>> music archive: http://www.espdisk.com/alansondheim/ >>> current text http://www.alansondheim.org/qx.txt >>> == >>> _______________________________________________ >>> NetBehaviour mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >>> >> >> >> Simon Biggs >> [email protected] >> http://www.littlepig.org.uk/ >> >> [email protected] >> http://www.elmcip.net/ >> http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> >> > > > == > email archive: http://sondheim.rupamsunyata.org/ > webpage http://www.alansondheim.org > music archive: http://www.espdisk.com/alansondheim/ > current text http://www.alansondheim.org/qx.txt > == > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > Simon Biggs [email protected] http://www.littlepig.org.uk/ [email protected] http://www.elmcip.net/ http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
