New Agenda on Sunday. is out! Edition of 10 January 2016

New Agenda on Sunday. A round up of New Agenda and much much more


"we are striking as a last resort, to try to stop a terrible scenario unfolding."

Good morning everyone.

After many months of negotiations, the Junior Doctors will be on strike next Tuesday. Ignoring all the hype, disinformation and smear about the reasons for the strike as pushed out by Jeremy Hunt and certain parts of the media, particularly the Sun (who else?), I believe that they have valid arguments and are justified in taking action. It is regrettable that it has come to this point. However, when governments choose to take on what they consider to be the softest targets in industrial disputes, doctors, nurses, police and others, it is inevitable that sooner or later the targets will say enough is enough. The government will still seek to undermine the validity of the workers arguments, as witnessed by the “sexed up” letter from the head of the NHS. No one should be in any doubt about how members of this Government, particularly Hunt, Duncan-Smith or Osborne will cheat, coerce and lie in order to achieve their objectives. Pressuring people in positions of influence, civil servants, intelligence chief's and even a head of the NHS, to embellish and exaggerate their reports or letters in order to meet the position adopted by Minister is not new. Junior doctors are not just fighting for patient safety & better training, but for the values and soul of the NHS. That's why I support them.

You may have noticed that over the last few days, Camelot and the usual sections of the media, have been hyping up the “record National Lottery jackpot” following a number of, “Roll over” weeks. The prize of £66 million was finally shared between “2 lucky winners” each receiving £33,035,323. The winning ticket and a share of the money, did not come to our house. This is the first National Lottery ticket I have purchased since they changed the rules and made the odds against winning, 1 in 45 million instead of 1 in 14 million. I suppose it was the vision of popping down to Poole and ordering that Sunseeker Manhattan 53 I have had an eye on for some time. In future I shall scrub the National Lottery, and stay with “Euro Millions” on Friday's.

This headline caught my eye from the Independent. “Snow forecast as Britain braces for icy blast and temperatures plunge below freezing. Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists are being warned of the risk of frost and ice on roads” These doom laden headlines keep appearing in the media, but all we seem to get is wind, loads of rain and mild temperatures. Somebody somewhere seems to have the wrong piece of seaweed for their predictions/forecasts (or are they just guessing.).

Italians have a wonderfully refreshing philosophy on life. When working in Italy some years ago, in response to some question I asked, a great friend replied “Hey, Giovanni. If you want to know about the weather, look out of the window”.

Have a nice week.

Northern Ireland and Brexit. The return of "The Troubles"

Northern Ireland: police attacked in another night of disturbances | Northern Ireland | The Guardian When the "Brexit" debate was still filling our newspapers and our television screens, readers may remember why I had changed my mind since voting to leave at the referendum vote. Apart from the economic arguments, which had become crystal clear after peeling away all the lies and misrepresentations trotted out by Bozo Boris and his "Get Brexit Done" conspirators, there was always the problem of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Would it be possible to have a border between the European Union and the United Kingdom where people, goods and services could pass freely between the two nations without customs restrictions, tariffs, duties and all the other formalities? Would it be possible to have one part of the United Kingdom treated differently from other parts of the United Kingdom, particularly when Scotland for example had voted overwhe...

Enough of this hysterical nonsense

http://style.uk.msn.com/royal-baby/how-will-the-royal-baby-look-as-he-grows-up Media generated hysteria. This is too much. For the last 36 hours (thought it seems more like 36 days) there has been wall to wall news coverage, media and television comment and reporting, with Sky News taking first prize for frenzied minute by minute reporting from the Palace, the hospital, from a village somewhere in England, from the studio and anywhere else that Burley, Botting and company could stick a microphone into some obscure "celebrity's" face and ask for yet another banal quote. All this galvanising the mass hysteria of some elements of the public, (who the media would have you believe is the reaction of "the whole world",) with their flag waving, dancing, singing and cheering over what is after all, no more than a woman having a bab...

A perverse and rather sinister media obsession to discredit, smear and undermine Jeremy Corbyn

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/venezuela-jeremy-corbyn-blasted-for-not-condemning-president-maduro-a3606156.html#commentsDiv Venezuela: Jeremy Corbyn blasted for not condemning socialist President Nicolas Maduro as violent conflict escalates There is a perverse and rather sinister obsesseion with the media and particularly television "interveiwers", in seeking to secure from Jeremy Corbyn a "condemnation" of some person or organisation or event. This time it is connected with events in Venezuela and the actions of President Nicolas Maduro and the bloody crackdown on protests against the result of last weeks poll which inaugurated a constituent assembly . The media "stories" and the interrogation by the television interviewers, are as subtle as a sledgehammer being nothing more than a variation on the "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" question, which so many repoters use in order for them to make themselves appear very ...

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