Not sure if you guys are purposely missing the point, the post was intended to be of ironic/sardonic humour.

What's with all this "our system is beyond reproach" the fact is the NHS is staggering, I for one don't blame any {shall we call them Nursing staff} although what do I know of them, except my mother was a Nurse for 30 odd years, and I married a SRN/SCM so I have some insights from them and the folks who work at some of the local hospitals.

Where did you get me labeling you or anyone as uncaring ? my chagrin in pointed at Government, they are responsible when things go wrong or when they go right.

You're comment of "if I could do better" is the last resort of the incompetent, fact is, I've no doubt that I could do better and be more concerned than some who are in supposed responsible positions.

What's with you guys, are you all witless ??? can't you read between lines to see the intended irony ???

Bob.

Yes, I'm witless. I missed the joke. Please explain it to me.

Oh ! right ! I missed the point of this forum, to attack folks hey ?

So if someone has an opposing opinion the correct thing to do is attack them !

I think your attitude is juvenile dbd33, mind you it's a fair representation of many forums... small minds, loud voices...

Bob.

No, the proper thing is to attack the opinion and not the person. I do think the post about electrodes and whatnot went too far.

To attack the opinion, yes.

Now, can you please explain the joke in your original post about dogs and NHS patients?

It wasn't a joke, it was an anagram... try...

Freckle Foggy Us.

I'd bet you're lost on that one too

Bob.

It was just nonsense then? Not a joke, not sardonic humour, not a reasoned denouncement of the NHS, just a bunch of offensive blather?

You are Melanie Phillips and I claim my bucket of spittle.

To me the irony is that given the choice my dog would not be the only one in my family to have private health care.

I believe that we should have an opt in/out system as to whether we pay NI or not. If you dont pay you dont receive "free" care, if you do you can get "free" care.

I could get much better treatment for a fraction of the £300 a month in National insurance contributions I pay, if I paid private insurance.

My mother has just had a hip replacement, at the age of 66, after a 20 month wait, contracted the MSRA virus and promptly died. I feel that had we been able to afford private health for her, which we would have, had I not been paying private insurance instead of NI then this may not have happened

Thats just my opinion though, please feel free to jump up and down on me if you choose

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother. What a tragedy. That virus is rampant over here too...my own father nearly died from it in July last year when they tried to remove his stomach cancer. Whilst he is now in the final days of terminal cancer, he lost two months of what would be his last year fighting that infection.

Think about this one, "attack an opinion" who the hell has the right to do that ? You're not saying that I can't have a point of opinion unless it is approved by you are you ??? or that I can't have a sense of humour unless that is approved by others as well ?

You're right on the electrodes comment, and I appreciate your fairness on that, just because we don't agree on a topic or are able to relate to a particular humour shouldn't provoke comments like that.

The fact is, it wasn't a "joke" is was an ironic comment, with some humour intended, but that's long been missed by the witless or forgotten by the malicious.

I guess what we can get out of this is, this sort of attack on folks is par for the course in the so called public forums, where folks with little if any wit are laying in wait to vent their spleen on folks who hold differing opinions or outlooks on life or humour.

I've been measured by folks who don't know a grain about me, and disparaged as "a little men", they got that bit right, I'm 5'7", but they don't now sod all about me, or what I've done in my time, yet cast their measure and their judgement against me.

Good exercise in axe grinding if we've nowt better to do hey... believe me given the choice between milk stout and contesting with some moron in here, well I'll not need to phone a friend...

Bob.

I trust you are joking. That's only a little over US$600 a month, barely enough to insure one individual in the US, never mind a family including an elderly woman. In the event, you could have chosen to pay for the hip replacement and flown the patient to the US or to some other centre, India for example. That's the same choice you would get for $600 a month paid to an HMO; they have the same constraints as state funded systems.

Your £300 only buys private coverage if you assume the government will maintain the NHS, or an equivalent, and only an elite can private healthcare too. That's a morally indefensible postion that works only if you're the elite. It's not a viable alternative to the NHS or an equivalent system such as OHIP.

We all have the right to attack\challenge an opinion.

You are certainly not innocent of making personal attacks

Ok here is what I've gathered about you.
1) you blew the whistle (rightly or wrongly I'm not commenting)
2) you apparently had your life threatend (wrongly I agree)
3) you got sick and decided to move back to the UK where you happily used the NHS
4) you have done some 'public works'
5) you actually believe that wilson was a socialist (and you question others intelligence)
6) you are a massive self publicist
7) you dont like people disagreeing with you.

I'm saying that, if you advance an opinion, you should expect people who disagree to express contrary opinions. If you express a controversial opinion, such as (in paraphrase), "the NHS treats people worse than dogs" or "immigrants are scroungers" then you should expect harshly phrased responses.

For ***** sake, grow up...

I've been insulted by better men than you, and they all came unstuck...

Go face the wall for 20 minutes and curse at the bricks, that might get the venom out of you.

Bob.

That wouldn't be the same immigration officials we were discussing on another thread, would it? The same officials that used their powers in an arbitrary fashion to inflict fear and unpleasantness on our fellow subscribers? You know, the strip searches, threats of deportation, arbitrary detention, delays, fines, that kind of thing?

We're all starting to get a very clear picture of you.

K.

And who make you the Hanging Judge sonny ?

Tell you what, let's hear 7 things about you...