I can't hear the canard quacking. As you don't say, you are as abrasively 
rude as ever. What I know and what I am going to spend time putting in a 
mail to this list are two separate things. But what the hell.

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the 
comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is 
violating all His laws.
John Adams to Thomas Jefferson.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Weiss" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 7:43 PM
Subject: Re: pullman on liberty
>
> My luck has been surprisingly consistent over ten years.
>
> As you say, you don't know much. Most of this is a very old canard 
> fortified by a few anecdotes. There are always horror stories--I could 
> tell a few myself about the US, tho just the much higher rate of 
> iatrogenic illnesses and the lower life expectancy here may speak for 
> themselves. And folks began complaining when Attlee was PM.
>
> Your Austrian friend was probably triaged (apparently accurately, as 
> witness her speedy recovery). There are strokes and strokes. In this 
> country we do scans for cuts and bruises, at enormous cost, to amortize 
> the expense of the machines.  That three days in the hospital would have 
> cost upwards of $6K in the US, by the way, and that would include no care 
> whatsoever, just the bed and the linens.
>
> As to British resistance, there seems to be near unanimity about 
> preserving the NHS. Maggie Thatcher tampered with it, but it's why she got 
> tossed. What I did notice was a nursing shortage, fueled by lowered 
> investment, which seems to have been reversed in the past year. In 
> Scotland, at least, the nursing shortage is being addressed--beyond the 
> standard free tuition for nursing students, they're now getting slaries 
> while they're in school, and the shortage should be a thing of the past in 
> about 5 years.
>
> There's an enormous nursing shortage in the US as well. In most places 
> nothing's being done about it, and nursing degrees are so expensive that 
> new hires are largely from other countries, where people can still afford 
> to go to school.
>
> Mark
>
>>Tim can probably make more interesting comments on how daily life is 
>>affected by all the laws, the virtual suspension of Habeas Corpus & 
>>hollowing out of individual rights, the monstrous personal data balls-up 
>>etc etc, general incompetence etc etc. - Italy has gone down the drain, 
>>too, of course - I have a very good friend living there, her reports of 
>>corruption & inefficiency are horrific, and the levels of racism & 
>>intolerance have become truly shocking under Berlusconi, as you must know 
>>from the papers. Things will get much worse in the years to come. I 
>>wouldn't mind dying soon, but that's just me - other people I know say 
>>well, it's interesting to see what will happen, isn't it? I'm going to 
>>start smoking again...
>>mj
>>
>>Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the 
>>comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is 
>>violating all His laws.
>>John Adams to Thomas Jefferson.
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Weiss" <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 10:47 PM
>>Subject: Re: pullman on liberty
>>
>>
>>>It's a shame I can't read the article. The snippet of comment below is 
>>>certainly provocative, and at odds with my experience of the UK, where I 
>>>spend a lot of time, and France, where I used to live. Of course I'm 
>>>comparing with the US, which hopefully Obama will make more nanny-like. 
>>>The alternative seems to be the clutches of the evil stepmother of 
>>>markets regulated only insofar as they guarantee profits and predation.
>>>
>>>My last trip to the UK I wound up in hospital in Glasgow for four days. 
>>>Every system can improve, but compared to what one has on this side it 
>>>was heaven. My experience with the French system has been even better. 
>>>(When I got back to the States I made a trip to the emergency ward. Ten 
>>>hours waiting.)
>>>
>>>In fact, Britain and France always strike me as youthful. Folks don't 
>>>carry nearly the burden of anxiety that we do here and tend to be far 
>>>more adventurous as a result. Which is to say that the restrictions on 
>>>the downside amount to a grant of freedom on the upside.