Replies

‘Short walk from where you are, now, when you have active sharia courts in the UK.’

Five courts in England. None in Scotland or Wales or NI, Isle of Man, Channel Islands. And no more planned for England. And the Tories and the new Coalition govt have stated they wont increase the number. And the courts are civil courts, no different to the Jewish Beth Din courts we have had in Britain for 100 years. And they cannot supercede English law (Arbritation Law of 1996).

I opposed them, but then I oppose ANY religious court.

‘Really, heck, I can’t find many and I am in the UK at least twice a month, meeting all stripes, from lefty academics to, well, senior people, and they all rue the NHS, see it s ineffective, rationed, unclean and over-burdened. I also have the unique knowledge that comes with direct experience with the NHS when my wife suffered a medical emergency while in Ipswich. Let’s just say the place was straight out of the 20’s or 30’s. with hardly an English-speaking person to be heard, and forget about finding an English-speaking doctor with western values and compassion. Nowhere to be found.’

The majority of British people support the PRINCIPLE of a free at point of access healthcare. Thats a fact. Be my guest and the next time you are here, stop ten people in the street and ask if they support it.

But then heck, I have only lived in Britain for all of my near 40 years. And I have lived and worked in Scotland and England. And actually worked for the NHS.

As for the NHS being old and outmoded, frankly I think you exaggerate. I have no problem if you didnt think it up to what you might have got in the US, but straight out of the 20’s is just hysterical nonsense and undermines your valid point. The NHS certianly has problems, I said that, but the idea that it is a third world service is drivel.

As to your foreign workers point, the NHS has many of them, they come from the Indian subcontinent or Africa, where they get better experience and training than they would at home. And I think your compassionless doctor point is just a nonsense.

You cannot base the NHS on one hospital!. Would you be OK if I based all American healthcare on one poor ‘free clinic’ in the US?. Hmm, I doubt it.

And you criticise me for painting with a broad brush.....

My experience?. The NHS has saved the lives of both my parents, and at the various hospitals they were treated at in Scotland, they have never had anything but superb care. Nor has the care been missing on any other dealings with NHS hospitals as outpatients. And needless to say, never any complaints about their local GP’s.

‘No, it is not. You simply have no idea. I have experienced it, know people that suffered under NHS, had rationed and delayed “care,” and your facilities are just dirty and awful. That is the rule in the UK in the NHS system, whereas in the US, clean and efficient and prompt care is the rule.’

Good for you. I too have experienced the UK and US systems. I lived in your country for 2 years!.

‘And you need to sop drinking the BBC kool-aid and start to think for yourself. Goodness, your comments are unintentionally amusing, from your defense of the indefensible (NHS), to your attempts to insult those that think and read and examine issues from all aspects and draw their own conclusions about the world and muslims. You really have no idea how many FReepers are world travelers and Anglophiles. It is because they are world travelers that FReepers know the US and know other countries and the lie that is NHS and socialism and left-wing bigotry.’

Firstly, I pay little attention to the BBC except for sport and entertainment.
Secondly, I am a Conservative. I am not and never have been liberal.
Thirdly, whilst many here are travelled, I find that the worst nonsense I read from Freepers comes from those who on probing admit to me that they have never been here. Yes, some are travelled here, but a lot at FR have never been to Britain and get their ‘facts’ from FR or talk radio.

‘I am sad to see a Scotsman take the positions you have. Scotland, once proud, fierce and independent, has borne someone like you that cower before the state and defends muslims.’

Oh please, spare me your patronising Braveheart nonsense. You know **** all about me.

Nobody you will meet is a bigger Scottish and British patriot than me. I am an exs-soldier and lifelong moral, political and economic conservative who opposes socialism.

Cower before the state?. I spent seven years defending it!.

Defend Muslims?. The IRA murdered a cousin of mine in 1971. Does that mean that I should hate all Catholic Irish?. Should I hate in perpituity all Germans or Japanese, or being a proud Scot, should I always hate all English?.
No, I dont hate nor fear all Muslims, and I am proud that I dont, because to hate an entire group leads to Auschwitz.

I dont hate all Muslims, I detest those who hate my country and would harm it.

Whereabouts in the United Kingdom do you currently reside? The Isle of Skye? I am originally from Luton, Bedfordshire, and return there regularly. The centre of the town may as well be ceded to Pakistan. An iconic Church in the centre of town (Once Christian-dominated, now Islamic) was demolished years ago. A Methodist Church in the area is regularly vandalised. Anti-English graffiti is regularly found on walls. Almost every restaurant in Town serves Halal meat, and only Halal meat.

Last year Muslims demonstrated against a troop-march in the town, and a fight broke out with Local attendees of the march. Guess which group suffered the most arrests? ‘White youths’ of course, who were also blamed for the incident by the Media, with the Muslim ‘protesters (who were abusing the troops) getting Police protection. Contrast with the riots in Northern England almost a decade ago, where protesting ‘White youths’ were blamed by the media for provoking the Muslims to riot. Notice how, if ‘White youths’ protest and there is trouble, it is the fault of ‘White youths’ for protesting, and if Muslims protest (in a much more provocative manner than the former), any trouble is still blamed on ‘White youths’.

If British people were asked if they support the PRINCIPLE of a free Rolls Royce for every family they would probably say yes to that too. That does not make it a workable policy. The NHS is a disgrace and regularly finishes bottom (or close to bottom) in rankings of healthcare in industrialised nations. Many nurses mispronounce the names of British patients, due to these names being foreign to them. This may not seem important to us now, but when you are seriously ill, it matters.

Patients are viewed as a nuisance, and treated as such. And why would they not be? Satisfied patients are not necessary for the survival of the NHS, where else are they going to go? They just have to shut-up and get back in the queue. In days gone by Public servants (which everyone with a government-funded job is) may have had a good community spirit and acted as such, putting the extra effort in for patients. But in a town in which there is no majority community, community-spirit is hard to find. And anyway, even selfish idiots can be relied upon to treat you well if they are being paid for it, hence the better standard of care, by exactly the same people, if you go private in the UK.

Actually, there is some community spirit in Luton. The Pakistani Muslim community is thriving, growing as it is and covering an ever-greater area of the town. They are not completely satisfied, their mosques are never able to cope with their growing numbers, so they are always demanding more space to worship, the right to build more mosques, and even taking over entire community centres for worship. I think they should turn that Methodist Church into a mosque, I am sure it would stop the vandalism problem.