UK
-
Senior BBC official insists that all of Jerusalem is an “Israeli” city By Amena Saleem
The BBC’s failure to make a distinction between East and West Jerusalem, or to note that Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem — East or West — has not been recognized, plays straight into the hands of Israel’s propagandists whose aim has long been to establish Jerusalem as the “undivided capital of Israel” in the minds of… Continue reading
-
Cabinet reshuffle takes UK closer to exit from European Union By Julie Hyland
The British media have largely portrayed UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle as cleaning the “barnacles off the boat” in order to ready the Conservative Party for next May’s General Election. Continue reading
-
DRIP filter: Controversial data retention bill forced through parliament
British MPs are pressing ahead with implementing a controversial bill requiring phone and internet companies to retain their customer’s data for up to a year granting security services unprecedented access to it. The bill would also force non-UK companies like Yahoo and Facebook to hold information on web activities if their users are based in… Continue reading
-
We all already own the NHS – the latest ‘mutual’ spin is about taking it out of our hands By Caroline Molloy
Here we go again. Turning the NHS into a ‘staff-owned’ mutual or ‘social enterprise’ has been re-launched more times than Liam Fox’s career, generally to a resounding wave of indifference or hostility from NHS staff who are generally less interested in being ‘social entrepreneurs’ than in getting on with doctoring and nursing. Continue reading
-
Stop distracting us with the ‘health tourism’ sideshow By Kailash Chand
Hunt commissioned research from two firms, Prederi and Creative Research, to come up with the £500m a year figure – but the companies themselves admitted this research was “based on incomplete data, sometimes of varying quality, and a large number of assumptions”. Actual ‘deliberate’ health tourism was estimated by Prederi to cost between £20 and… Continue reading
-
George Galloway defends British capitalism in Scottish referendum campaign By Jordan Shilton
In opposing independence, Galloway is attempting to secure support from broad sections of the working class who are hostile to the separatist agenda of the Scottish National Party and its supporters in the fake left. Several hundred people attended his speaking appearances at various locations as part of his ongoing “Just Say Naw” tour. Continue reading
-
DRIPping into Fascism, one ‘law’ at a time
DRIP (Data Retention and Investigatory Powers) ignores the Court and recreates blanket surveillance powers that’ll affect all of us – allowing the Government to command retention of the entire population’s communications data for 12 months. Continue reading
-
‘It defies belief’: Snowden condemns UK’s new surveillance bill
Snowden found the duress with which the UK government processed the Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill to be remarkable, comparing it to the Bush administration’s introduction of the Protect America Act in 2007. The Protect America Act was issued after the New York Times exposed a “warrantless wire-tapping programme” that was both illegal and… Continue reading
-
On TTIP and the NHS, they are trying to bamboozle us By John Hilary
The TTIP trade treaty talks re-open in Brussels this week. We should not be reassured by the convenient ‘leak’ of a private letter between key TTIP advocates claiming the treaty poses no threat to the NHS. Continue reading
-
Take our ‘treatment’ or we’ll stop your benefits, Tories threaten mentally ill By Louise McCudden
Proposals to strip benefits from depressed people who ‘refuse’ treatment are unethical, ignore root causes, and are likely to force people into inappropriate treatment or penury. Continue reading
-
Cameron government steps up drive to sell UK public assets By Allison Smith and Paul Bond
A proposed bill will make it even easier for the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government to sell off high-value public land. The National Health Service (NHS) is expected to be one of the social services hardest hit. Continue reading
-
“Save our Surgeries” call goes out on NHS birthday By Doctor Ron Singer
As the NHS turned 66 on Saturday, patients and health workers marched through the streets of East London in protest at the threatened closure of scores of GP surgeries. Continue reading
-
Destroying the NHS: Time to get even with Stevens By John Lister
New NHS boss Simon Stevens has revealed his true privatising colours with this week’s announcement on personal health budgets – which would wreck NHS services and leave the field clear for big business. We have been waiting to see whether – and how – new NHS boss Simon Stevens would work round to furthering the… Continue reading
-
UK public sector workers hold one-day strike By Julie Hyland
Just prior to the day of action, Conservative Minister Matthew Hancock said that pay would be curbed for four years, until at least 2018 if his party returned to power in the 2015 general election. Pay restraint would have to remain in force until the government has “the books balanced”, he said. His admission deepened… Continue reading
-
“Handing patients NHS cash” is just rebranding cuts By Peter Beresford
Personal health budgets are to be rolled out to many more patients and combined with social care personal budgets, Simon Stevens, NHS England’s new Chief Executive announced yesterday. But as spending on both social care and the NHS contracts, what is the evidence underpinning this massive shift in resources? Continue reading
-
The National Security State: UK gov rushes through emergency law on data retention By Kelly Fiveash
Emergency law is expected within days to be pushed through Parliament that will force ISPs to retain customer data to allow spooks to continue to spy on Brits’ internet and telephone activity, after existing powers were recently ruled invalid by the European Union’s highest court. Continue reading
-
New disability payments system responsible for deaths in Britain By Dennis Moore
A new disability benefit, Personal Independence Payments (PIP), brought in by the UK government to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA), has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. In addition, many seriously ill people have been left without a payment months after applying. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 