Stacy Summary: Twenty two thousand Americans die for lack of health insurance each year? That 176,000, without fanfare, will have laid down their lives since 911 so that the insurance, big pharma and big health might thrive chokes me up with just such awe at the American spirit. It is they who have the stiff upper lip these days, unlike in the UK where I witnessed the middle class tearing through pharmacies stocking up on thermometers, masks, cough medicine . . . really, making such an over the top self-celebratory show of contributing to the Finance-Insurance-BigPharma Oligarchy. What do you want a swine shaped ribbon?
According to government figures, 1-percenters’ share of America’s total income is the highest it’s been since 1929, and their tax rates are the lowest they’ve faced in two decades. Through bonuses, many 1-percenters will profit from the $23 trillion in bailout largesse the Treasury Department now says could be headed to financial firms. And most of them benefit from IRS decisions to reduce millionaire audits and collect zero taxes from the majority of major corporations.
But what really makes the ultra-wealthy so fortunate, what truly separates this moment from a run-of-the-mill Gilded Age, is the unprecedented protection the 1-percenters have bought for themselves on the most pressing issues.
To review: With 22,000 Americans dying each year because they lack health insurance, Congress is considering universal healthcare legislation financed by a surcharge on income above $280,000 — that is, a levy almost exclusively on 1-percenters. This surtax would graze just 5 percent of small businesses and would recoup only part of the $700 billion the 1-percenters received from the Bush tax cuts. In fact, it is so minuscule, those making $1 million annually would pay just $9,000 more in taxes every year — or nine-tenths of 1 percent of their 12-month haul.
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sorry this is off topic… but cnbc is actually encouraging its viewers to buy goldmansachs stock…wtf !
that guy is such a douche.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc5BKWEwShc
My only surprise is that no one has yet decided to place advertising on the swine flu face masks…. yet!
What sort of message printed on a face mask could best describe the irony: “Closing down Sale”, ‘BUPA”, “Curtains – for all”, “Globalise your message”, “Banking virus”, “Rise Up”.
They might make good accessories for a political slogan even. If the filth asked you to remove your mask you could claim certain death and refuse. Mmm, then again, I guess that wouldn’t cut much mustard in the taser wielding 21st century but its a thought.
Eliminate all the “sophisticated” professions from the economy, and then you’ll see a marked improvment in the “real “exchange of ideas, services and products. No need to steal from Peter to give to Paul.
And by the way, before anyone asks,..the mediator would be a computor!
There you go,…my solution to world problems, do I get a gold star and a pat on the back? : )
@ Alister.
Oh man, thats Butt Head!
He is getting paid heaps for doing what he’s doing.
….Making a Schving Schving of himslef.
Sorry Max, I just love saying it. Ha!
I believe every single banking and trading tool, system and hedge fund, naked short, derivative, etc etc etc SHOULD BE CEASED IMMEDIATELY.
These tools are out of control and law has no way of keeping up with their use.
Simplify the banking, financial system and risk will be reduced if not eliminated.
The traders can just go to Macao Casino if they want to LAUNDER MONEY, but leave simple savers, mortgage holders and small business out of it.
Re: swine flu
The second wave of flu hysteria hits the media in these days it seems, the Norwegian institute of public health did a good week ago give out information that a diagnose of the swine flu could be taken clinically saying it is now not necessary with laboratory confirmation of all suspected new cases of influenza. Now the doctor can even diagnose it over the phone. So no wonder why the use (or purchasing) of tamiflu goes thru the roof giving Roche a nice big profit.
It is the fear we are fighting against.
A commuter train ran between two large cities. Pretty much the same people rode the train every day. So, everyone would notice when there was a new passenger. So, one day, there was a new passenger, and the regulars paid a little extra attention to him to see who he might be. In any case, about halfway through the ride, the man suddenly opened up the window, and started throwing out little balls of wadded-up paper. Everyone watching thought this was rather odd. Someone finally got up the courage to ask the new rider why he was throwing paper wads out the window. “Sir, I can’t help but noticing that you are throwing something out the window. Why are you doing this?” The man replied “It scares off the lions.” Now, everyone heard this, and started looking out the window. There were no lions to be seen anywhere. Another rider then asked the man, “What lions? I don’t see any lions.” The new rider replied “Pretty effective, huh?”
World war 3 is soon a fact
Now I know for sure, Americans are insanely Crazy, read:
“At this point, 83% of the population is recommended to get an annual flu vaccine,” she said. “Unfortunately, only about 40% of the U.S. population received the flu vaccine last year.” http://tinyurl.com/nddurr
In Europe it’s only given to people who could have an extra risk on getting some type of so-called seasonal flu but with the Thimerosal inside you see the opposite, the elder die quicker trough the very poisonous Thimerosal. So, watch your OL after the seasonal flu-vaccin. Also is proven that getting 3X a seasonal vaccin with Thimerosal increases the risk on Altzheimer with 30%. Don’t take the shit!
Definition: Thimerosal is a mercury containing preservative that was commonly found in vaccines since the 1930s. Although no link to autism or other conditions was ever found, because of concerns that thimerosal could be harmful and because alternatives to thimerosal were now available, according to the FDA, ‘thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine.
Research Highlight – Side effects of Tamiflu: clues from an Asian single nucleotide polymorphism http://tinyurl.com/nf339g
Tamiflu Side Effects: http://www.tamiflu.com/sideeffects.aspx
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/kidsandtheflu/a/0207_tamiflu_se.htm
MY VIEW: Tamiflu is very unnecessary and even harms you by totaly messing up your immune system and other side effects are possible! Why take the risk if your body is very capable of fighting of the flu. This is only mean business and can even trigger the virus into worse mutations.
@Mongo,
at least the bastards can only get you once hey.
re: swine flu – here is one of France’s most famous doctors on the front page of Journal du Dimanche:
http://www.lejdd.fr/cmc/societe/200930/debre-cette-grippe-n-est-pas-dangereuse_233431.html
@Stacy,……yeah,.we know the flu isn’t dangerous,..it’s the vaccine !!
Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers
By MIKE STOBBE (AP) – Jul 17, 2009
ATLANTA — The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu, thousands filed claims contending they suffered side effects from the shots. This time, the government has already taken steps to head that off.
Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, government health officials said Friday….
Upcoming Military Robot Feed on Dead Bodies http://tinyurl.com/mfa3or
Tamiflu-Resistants patients now found in Honk Kong – China, Japan and Denmark.
Q&A Mexican – Swine Virus (Updated) http://tinyurl.com/kk6gy6
BBC NEWS UK:
‘Top Gear’s James May to live in Lego House’
‘Lumley meeting Gurkhas in Nepal’
‘Journalist rides bike’
What’s in the Herman’s Head of the British Psyche?
Peter Andre and Katie Price sitting on a cream leather sofa.
Re: the title: The rich have never had it so good.
A play on that would be: The poor have never had it so bad:-
The 5 stages of homelessness in the USA:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKmYKU3JP1o
Here’s a good link:
http://www.sovereignty.net/Library/gg1-web.htm
imagine the health care in some countries if govts who bought US bonds spent the money on health care too. All those well educated unemployed could be sent o/s to pay off the debt with reparations by helping those countries just for board and lodging. A new slave trade involving western university grads.
Oh wait, the western world is suppposed to be leading the world while the rest of the world look on adoringly. My mistake.
The other four parts are here:
http://sovereignty.net/
Sorry, my point being it’s no wonder ‘cheesy puff’ eating little piggies are afraid of big bad swine flu.
@sharon
I do like George4Title (regardless of what they say about his ‘pump and dumping’ associate Lebed).
interesting vid on Schiff v Dodd.
Dodd will be who Schiff is running against if he decides to run for Senate. Dodd was a big receiver of funds from Freddie and Fannie and cheerleader for the boom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuAIinwcYk8
I think Ive had swine flu already, sister in law had it, and I got a cough around the same time as did a few members of the family. I wouldn’t have gone to get the vaccine anyway. 3 Phase trials usually that take at least 3 years for most new treatments. So if the vaccine is available this year that equates to Phase 1 guinea pig trials.
that’s 3 Phase human trials too btw, nevermind the real guinea pig (animal) trials
@Youri;
Interesting correlation between Alzeheimers and flu shot. Are you sure it is not the aluminum in the shot vs. the mercury for Alzeheimers? Did you read the Mercola link about the two different immune systems and squalene oil? Seems the new flu shot is turbocharged to make it more profitable.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/squalene-the-swine-flu-vaccine’s-dirty-little-secret-exposed.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Mercury-and-Aluminum-Present-in-Flu-Shots?&id=274744
Here’s how draconian the health “helpers” are to the common folk:
Special Concerns about Egg Allergies and Flu Vaccines:
Flu vaccines are cultured in chicken eggs. Therefore, there is a potential for reaction in egg-allergic patients who receive the influenza vaccine. Current protocol according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology is to administer a skin test using the flu vaccine. If this is positive, the doctor and patient will determine whether the patient’s flu risk justifies using the flu vaccine and, if so, giving the shot in an allergist’s office or hospital to treat emergency symptoms if necessary. Flu treatments, like Tamiflu, do not contain eggs. For more information, see Vaccines and Egg Allergies.
http://foodallergies.about.com/od/eggallergies/p/eggallergies.htm
Tamiflu was banned in Japan because of the danger to young people of neuropsychotic reactions;
http://foodallergies.about.com/od/eggallergies/p/eggallergies.htm
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/04/19/Report-Tamiflu-may-increase-abnormal-acts/UPI-37321240170426/
Beware the numbers game…
22,000 people died in the US because THEY WERE SICK. How does anyone know their sickness was completely repairable by a hospital?
Think about the number of people who die each year BECAUSE THEY CONTRACTED SOMETHING AWEFUL while in the hospital? Fully insured, they go to the hospital with a pruning shear in their arse and they die of MRSA…
So one could claim that more people die each year BECAUSE THEY HAD HEALTH INSURANCE than those who did not…
Numbers can be tricky, is all I’m sayin’…
@ScottfromOregon
Does it SEEM like a return to the middle ages? Hospitals to become dangerous places? I got mrsa from a nurse who didn’t wash her hands properly. Be sure to demand anyone that touches you WEARS GLOVES. Avoid hospitals if at all possible.
There are worse bugs than mrsa in hospitals now.
@Scott from Oregon – having lived most of life in US health care system and the past 14 years split between UK and France, I can say without reservation that the European system is far better, with France better than UK and I don’t even visit my family in US for fear of being caught in US system again mostly because of the oppressive bureaucracy involved (which is ironically what many scare mongerers claim is what happens in Europe, where I have never had to do paperwork or get approval from some paper pusher on the other end of the phone as to whether or not I can be treated for a particular illness; in France I have always got an appointment within a few hours of calling for an appointment and have never had to fill in any paperwork at all)
furthermore, you will never ever encounter in UK or France (or other european systems I assume) a situation where someone has to wait for their sickness or disease to develop into an emergency situation in order to be able to get treatment; it isn’t rocket science to compare mortality rates between those with insurance and those without in the US just as one can compare mortality rates between nations
@frances snoot – apparently the biggest decrease in morality happened after the discovery of washing hands . . . before that doctors didn’t know the role of bacteria on their hands as making patients ill; and all the new technologies, etc have only relatively marginally improved life expectancy . . . bacteria are just evolving and getting stronger, partly because of all the antibiotics we use
how many people die each DAY of hunger?
so isn’t hunger pandemic?
some other pandemics
lack of clean water
lack of a functional sewage system
lack of health care
deaths due to the wrong meds
deaths due to infections contracted in hospitals
@gb – indeed and we all have to die anyway; just curious to know why Americans want to spend twice as much to die at a faster, earlier rate than most other Western nations when it seems quite obvious that it is merely for the benefit of the same banking oligarchy (of which insurance companies are part) that has just looted their treasury; to each his own, of course . . . just curious as about half of my American friends don’t have any insurance and are in a constant state of stress worrying about if something happens to them
@Stacey:
How do you account for the difference between the French system of health care and the British model? I know UK health care is awful. I read Canada is not so good. Of course the insurers here are terrible and the cost outrageous. Does France have a different system?
@Stacey:
Agreed. But unfortunately, it is proven that doctors and nurses don’t wash their hand properly perhaps because of a reliance on the antibiotics to keep bugs at bay. When the bugs got buggier the lack of proper hygience became apparent: so Gloves Gloves Gloves should be the order of the day!
@stacy
hey there
what i intended to point out is that there are many other things that kill so many people, for ex, hunger, yet they are not declared to be pandemics
more people probably die of stressing about their health insurance coverage than will ever die of the flu!
stacy…
I don’t doubt that the French or British system is “better”.
The problem with creating an American system based on either the British or French system is one of scale and power.
Adding MORE power to the state of America is something I strongly want to avoid. Letting the US government create MORE mandates and requirements of its citizens and control MORE cash is not my idea of intelligent design.
I STRONGLY advocate state systems (remember, the EU has systems, not ONE system. Imagine if the EU decided to unify all health care in Europe? Would you be FOR it?) with some of the smaller US states like Rhode Island perhaps combining.
So let’s say, 40 different systems all with opt-in rules (no mandates) and a subsidized welfare component for the truly needy.
The whole point being, I am against granting an entity that likes to bomb brown-skinned people and roam its military up and down people’s coastlines with more power and ability to rake up money out of local communities.
There is no reason to have one massive, centralized healthcare system when smaller, more innovative systems can exist instead.
The existing US system is one where those who have the most to gain monetarily are writing the rules. More corporate capture, which is still occuring in Obama’s “new and improved” healthcare plan.
I believe in an inverted power structure whereby people have control over their communities and their lives. I am reluctant to give that up to Washington DC on almost every issue.
Americans don’t die earlier than other nations because of their healthcare. They die earlier because they’ve had it so good for so long they got fat and lazy and hooked on really bad food.
Those stats (again, beware the numbers!) don’t include miles walked to bus stop or train everyday (Americans walk 20 feet to their garages) number of french fries eaten (or how super the size of the soft drink) amount of time spent watching tv or sitting in front of the television watching sports, etc…
I guess the topic here is H1NI flu and free health care for all in USA, but I see these issues just facets of the larger deliberate destruction of the US dollar and economy and middle class to make for a one world “neofeudal” death and slavery system under the Luciferian filth that runs the world.
BigPharma and “medicine” is all just a part of the petro / chemical / industrial complex. Vaccines have been pretty much a bad thing – all of them — from the beginning.
Do not take the new untested flu vaccine to be put out by Baxter, perhaps one of the most murderous of the BigPharma companies.
Be prepared to be able to quarantine yourself in your own dwelling. Stock up and don’t answer your door to the government goons.
All of this evil is by design and it has been going on for centuries. It does look like we are being attacked by “crises” of all kinds right now.
People like Ron Paul and his 272 cosponsors of the bill to try and make the Federal Reserve transparent and accountable are the new evil demons, according to campaign now ensuing in Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, etc.
The people who want to end the Fed and try to save America are now being painted as the very people who are CAUSING the crash of the U.S. economy by not allowing the Federal Reserve to operate “as it should – “independently.”
@Stacy
unfortunately, it is not true that in other european health care systems people don’t have to wait to be in an emergency situation to get treatment. i wish it was the case!
Obama’s health care plan looks doomed. His approval numbers are falling fast.
In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, the USA had a very good health care system. Doctor’s fees were affordable and many doctors accepted payment in farm products and other items. If a person did not have insurance, the county health system worked great. Most of the doctors chose to give several hours each week to the care of the people in the county hospital and clinics. It was quality medical care and no cost to the poor.
Medical care is not a “right” that must be provided by the government. If we had a proper economic and government system, everyone would be cared for. Big money has taken over health care and it has little or nothing to do with “care” or “saving lives.”
In Canada, you have to wait six months for a cat scan to see if you have a brain tumor. You may be dead or inoperable by the time the test is done.
Nationalized health care is a great thing so long as you do not have to use it.
@gb
roughly 1 person per second die from malnutrition/starvation.
the cause of roughly 60 percent of all death.
“roughly 1 person per second die from malnutrition/starvation.
the cause of roughly 60 percent of all death.”
Yes, the globalist, United Nations, ruling elites have been very successful in destroying nations and peoples and their sovereignty and independence and killing off the world’s population in various ways over the last century.
The same folks ripping us off blind right now are the same folks engineering all the malnutrition and starvation around the world, and the USA is next in line for food shortages and military takover.
we are led to believe that world hunger is an unsolvable problem. but as the late bill hicks said – if they can shoot smart bombs into targeted windows, why can’t they shoot food at hungry people?
if they have money for bankers and money for useless vaccines, why do they fail so miserably with the millions of starving people? there is no will to solve the problem. they don’t need all these people. they can make money without them being alive. they consider them useless eaters.
Frances Snoot writes “I know UK health care is awful. I read Canada is not so good.”
How do you “know” the UK health care is awful? As for Canada, you “read’ some kind of lying propaganda put out there by the FOR PROFIT insurance and pharmaceutical INDUSTRIES (not “services”). They MAKE their profit by DENYING care to people who NEED it.
All this about the British NHS is pure brainwashing. I really do know this for a fact, as I’m British, and I’ve lived in the US for nearly 8 years now. I have family and friends in the UK still, so I’m in a position to compare the experience of both systems first-hand.
I can tell you for a FACT that the only thing wrong with the British health system is that it has been starved of funding ever since the time of Thatcher-NoSuchThingAsSociety/Reagan’s pal.
Despite that, it is STILL 100 times better than the US system. Let me illustrate.
1. Last autumn, my stepfather developed a life-threatening condition, but they couldn’t make a diagnosis. To start with, a nurse visited him at home every 2 or 3 days to monitor changes. When his condition deteriorated further, she got him a place in the closest hospital (no questions about which hospital he could go to). He was given (and I mean GIVEN) every care necessary for nearly 2 weeks while they worked on his diagnosis. At the end of that time, one of the doctors visited him, delighted to have discovered the cause of his sickness: it was an extremely rare side effect of a drug he had been taking for digestive problems. My stepfather’s care, ALL of it, all the labs and work on his diagnosis, the follow-up visits and treatment to reverse the harm – EVERYTHING cost him ABSOLUTELY NOTHING out of pocket.
2. Within the past few weeks, a family friend in the UK was recently diagnosed with advanced cancer. Immediately, the doctors swung into action, no questions asked. He had to under go extensive and complicated surgery to various parts of his body, taking about a day. In the US, the cost of the surgery alone would have run into 6 figures at least. He was also cared for in the hospital, where all his needs were provided, including drugs, food, bedding, etc.. He was billed ₤… oh wait – no one even talked to him about payment. He and his wife have nothing but praise for all the British health professional who had cared for him.
Both of these men are in their 70s, putting to rest the BLATANT LIES that they just “let you die” if you’re “too old”.
Neither of them had to wait for treatment – because NEED determines your place in the queue, not how/how much you can pay. That deals with the “you would wait forever” LYING PROPAGANDA.
The decisions about treatment were made by the doctors and the patients ONLY. If any bureaucrat ever knew about it, it was after the event, for reimbursing the hospitals, doctors, and visiting nurses.
Excuse the caps but I get really angry at how the American people are flat-out BRAINWASHED WITH BAREFACED ***LIES***.
If any legislator in a civilized country ever even HINTED at getting rid of universal healthcare, they would be out on their ear so fast their feet wouldn’t touch the ground for five miles. If any other legislator repeated the idea, there would be huge riots in the streets!
DO NOT BELIEVE that Canadians, Brits, French people, Germans, Norwegians, Cubans (yes, Cubans) or anyone else in a civilized country wants the US system.
None of those countries have travelling tent missions set up by doctors to treat poor people who can’t get care any other way. The US does! These doctors started Remote Area Medical to go to 3rd World countries. Now they operate in the US, and people queue overnight for them – and they have to turn people away. Did I mention 3rd World countries…? See http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/transcript4.html and
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/22/uninsured_travel_from_across_us_for
Scott from Oregon writes “Americans don’t die earlier than other nations because of their healthcare. They … got fat and lazy and hooked on really bad food.”
There’s a grain of truth in what you say, but part of that is happening because the US has a profit-driven health system:
When you have a single payor system, what you’ll always find is an emphasis on
– prevention
– early diagnosis and treatment
– patient education and lifestyle support.
This is good for everyone involved: it educates the patient, MAINTAINS good health (or restores it quickly), and keeps costs low because less treatment is required.
In the UK, for instance, doctors get paid for IMPROVING their patients’ health indicators like blood pressure.
In a profit-driven system, doctors get paid for TAKING the blood pressure, and they have incentives from the pharmaceutical industries to prescribe DRUGS. Thus, the GREATEST PROFIT comes from the SICKEST PATIENT – as long as they can keep paying.
Many’s the time I’ve gone to a British doctor whose “prescription” has consisted of advice on exercise, hot/cold water treatments for microscopic muscle damage, a lesson on how the esophagus works (so I could avoid taking antacids for the last 20 years). A doctor advised an acquaintance on fiber in food, and even drew him a diagram of the rectum!
Yet the first time I visited my US doctor, I mentioned my first problem and he immediately got out his prescription pad and asked what I wanted! His first response was to prescribe a drug – whatever drug I named!
(1) A face mask only gives you about 20 minutes of protection. Then it’s worthless.
(2) Silly question. Where’s the market oversight on these drug companies during this outbreak? Right, I forgot. Obama’s Administration wants to limit the market derugulation.
(3) No pun intended. But what’s the sickest thing in this? Name one person in Congress who would:
Drop their govt. universal care for what we have.
Who doesn’t have unlimited sick leave at full pay? Nothing personal against Edward Kennedy while he fights cancer. But, how many of us are millionaires getting the best treatment money can buy? Is he losing sleep at night over “pre-existing” conditions? Somebody has to talk about this stuff.
Vaccine may be more dangerous than the swine flu
July 25th, 2009
By Dr. Russell Blaylock
from The Idaho Observer
Editor’s Note: One can continue to believe that the global gurus of public health are responding appropriately to the swine flu emergency and willingly take the shot if they choose to do so. But such trust and complacency requires the omission of one key factiod: The vaccine contains an oil-based “adjuvant” containing “squalene.” Adjuvants are used to boost an immune response. Squalene, which is a causal factor in Gulf War illness, causes crippling arthritis and premature death in about 100 percent of lab animals and has been associated with autoimmune diseases and premature death in people as well. Early reports of trials with the H1N1 vaccine show that the vaccine is already maiming and killing people. It appears certain that those who take the vaccine may not get the flu but can expect to die a painful and premature death—and WHO et. al know it.
more-
http://clarkies4hrc.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=nongd&action=display&thread=657
@frances snoot – I think perhaps French system is better than UK because it is more decentralised; and the patient is more aware of the cost of a visit
in UK you HAVE to go to your GP in order to get referred to a specialist; and plus IMO that there are zero costs (other than via raised govt expenditure) to going to the doctor, you have hundreds of worried well people who abuse the ‘free health care,’ system in UK so most GP waiting rooms are packed with patients unlike here in France; I have never seen this in France where you can just ring up whatever specialist you need and go to them without a referral; plus there is a bit of a cost to the visit which is going to be less than 20 euros but nevertheless I think it probably stops those that might otherwise visit their GP once or twice a month out of hypochondria; (mind you, I believe chronic conditions and emergencies have none of this small fee to pay)
also you don’t have to go the national health route, anyone can pay for a private for a set fee of 150 euros for a specialist and I think 90 euros for a GP – - (and most of the tests etc will be very very very cheap compared to US costs); again comparing that to a comment made earlier by someone else that the US healthcare system used to be more affordable because doctor’s fees were affordable
also, in UK, there is the huge strain of thursday and friday nights on the system; while treatment is ‘free,’ it isn’t really, the collective are paying for the inundation of the emergency rooms with drunk people on the weekends and there isn’t that strain on the resources in France; furthermore, it is definitely not free to call out the ambulance here, so you don’t have all that abuse going on . .
I’m sure there are other reasons, but those are the differences that stand out to me
“There’s a grain of truth in what you say, but part of that is happening because the US has a profit-driven health system:”
And the evidence for that is???
We’ve had tv commercials for years by the “Ad Councel” telling Americans to eat right and shape up…
We get told in school health class to eat right and shape up…
We are bombarded with ads on TV and in print for “AB rockets”, “Health Riders”, “Total Gyms”, not to mention “24 Hour Fitness” gyms…
Americans can’t say they got fat because “they didn’t know”…
The two main health causes for Americans are 1) lack of walking. 2) bad food habits.
Cheap fuel and no convenient bus and railway attribute to the first. Corporate Chain food strategically placed everywhere you drive and open at ungodly hours (not to mention the food courts at the malls) contributes greatly to the second.
Again, I will reiterate. State systems are fine by me and I would welcome a strong move by Oregon to set up a state system which I will happily submit to.
BUT I WILL NOT support giving any more money to a federal state apparatus that thinks we need THOUSANDS of nukes and have a habit of bombing brown-skinned people and like to run our war ships up and down other people’s coastlines…
@OneforAll:
How do you “know” the UK health care is awful?
I lived in the UK for four years; I got appendicitis while there. The hospital where I was operated on was so dirty a friend had to get me out immediately. The ward was mixed: I was lying in a bed surrounded by a curtain with a man lying less than ten feet from me: like this all along the ward.
I don’t want to waste time posting of infection rates in UK hospitals: astronomical, by mrsa and c. difficile. C difficile in particular has ravished the hospitals. Both are due to a lack of cleanliness and handwashing of health workers. Here’s two links:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/21659.php
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1146829
“The plans also promise a new drive to ensure that staff wash their hands frequently”
(duh. welcome to the middle ages)
I am sorry I offended you about your country’s health care, but lots of people think the NHS sucks.
“When you have a single payor system, what you’ll always find is an emphasis on
– prevention
– early diagnosis and treatment
– patient education and lifestyle support.”
@Oneforall:
Looks like your prevention program has gone awry:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1129964/Britain-sickest-country-Europe-worst-rates-obesity-teenage-pregnancy.html
To Frances Snoot
I never said the British health system was perfect. If you recall (or if you look back), I said that it had been deteriorating ever since the ravages of Thatcherism had denied it proper funding.
And this was a very clever thing to do: it makes single-payer healthcare look like a bad idea, thus softening up the public to try to get them to accept something inferior.
What you’re seeing is the result of that.
You link to an article saying that the British are the sickest in Europe. Let’s get this straight: EUROPE.
And the USA is not in Europe.
A study about a year ago (I think it was in New Scientist) took 6 groups: for each country, they were split into 3 groups by income, and then the study looked at their health. The researchers seem to have been surprised by the result. I would have expected the richest Americans to be the healthiest, followed by the richest British, and so on, but actually:
ALL the British groups were healthier than ALL the American groups. Yes – even the poorest Brits were healthier than the rich Americans.
By the way, American hospitals also have huge deficiencies when it comes to hand-washing. I work in one of the better ones, and it’s always being mentioned by inspectors.
@OneforAll:
Agreed that Americans are the porkiest in all the lands. I was only pointing out that the PREVENTION route does not always take!
Agreed that hand-washing failure is rife in America as well.
Perhaps the Americans and the Brits should stop drinking milk? Why are the French winedrinkers svelte? (blach…I detest milk)
mOOOOOOre milk?