Peppa Pig - I don't believe it!

I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw this on the BBC website!

It's bad enough that some brainless idiot in the Labour party even thought of using a children's cartoon character in their campaign in the first place, but to have two senior cabinet ministers talking such total bollocks in a press conference beggars belief.



If there was any doubt in anyone's mind that these clowns are unfit to govern, this should settle the matter once and for all.

Un-bloudy-believable!

Peppa Pig - I don't believe it!

I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw this on the BBC website!

It's bad enough that some brainless idiot in the Labour party even thought of using a children's cartoon character in their campaign in the first place, but to have two senior cabinet ministers talking such total bollocks in a press conference beggars belief.



If there was any doubt in anyone's mind that these clowns are unfit to govern, this should settle the matter once and for all.

Un-bloudy-believable!

Bullshit bingo!

Don't know about you, but I'm getting to the point where listening to all the parties droning on is beginning to get to me!


So come on guys, let's bring some colour into the campaign! Spice up your rhetoric! You know you can do better!

Here's a list of just a few of the useful phrases I have already spotted some of you using (you know who you are!)....

• Let me just pop something into your mental microwave and see if it defrosts
• The wheel's spinning but the hamster's dead
• We’re not cutting back, we’re just shortening the waste chain
• We've got to downsize our sloppiness
• We need to ensure we're all singing from the same hymn sheet before we push forward
• Scatter the ideas across the floor and let's see where the chickens scratch
• We will introduce a radical cost reduction action plan (C.R.A.P.)
• Unemployment is higher than it was in 1994, but not as high as it would have been if the others had been in power
• We will cut the deficit by ensuring that the increase in our rate of overspending is not as high as it otherwise would have been
• I'll do whatever I can to make sure that the future of this country becomes entrenched
• Frontline services will be protected but it may be necessary for some frontline services to be reclassified into the backoffice
• Government waste is running out of control and it is essential that we ensure that any future waste will not be unnecessarily wasted (sorry?...)
• Management is essential but we must ensure that these managers are effectively managed
• We need to increase National Insurance so that it is not necessary to increase taxes

And my own particular favourite :

• We need to deliver simplified contract management, effective service evolution and responsive scaling to requirement bringing cost savings by flexible services, control and balanced service levels

I will leave it up to you to work out who used that particular little gem...

Bullshit bingo!

Don't know about you, but I'm getting to the point where listening to all the parties droning on is beginning to get to me!


So come on guys, let's bring some colour into the campaign! Spice up your rhetoric! You know you can do better!

Here's a list of just a few of the useful phrases I have already spotted some of you using (you know who you are!)....

• Let me just pop something into your mental microwave and see if it defrosts
• The wheel's spinning but the hamster's dead
• We’re not cutting back, we’re just shortening the waste chain
• We've got to downsize our sloppiness
• We need to ensure we're all singing from the same hymn sheet before we push forward
• Scatter the ideas across the floor and let's see where the chickens scratch
• We will introduce a radical cost reduction action plan (C.R.A.P.)
• Unemployment is higher than it was in 1994, but not as high as it would have been if the others had been in power
• We will cut the deficit by ensuring that the increase in our rate of overspending is not as high as it otherwise would have been
• I'll do whatever I can to make sure that the future of this country becomes entrenched
• Frontline services will be protected but it may be necessary for some frontline services to be reclassified into the backoffice
• Government waste is running out of control and it is essential that we ensure that any future waste will not be unnecessarily wasted (sorry?...)
• Management is essential but we must ensure that these managers are effectively managed
• We need to increase National Insurance so that it is not necessary to increase taxes

And my own particular favourite :

• We need to deliver simplified contract management, effective service evolution and responsive scaling to requirement bringing cost savings by flexible services, control and balanced service levels

I will leave it up to you to work out who used that particular little gem...

120 Reasons to Love Him

I'm doing a collab post this week. I have enlisted 11 lovely little helpers who have each listed 10 reasons they love Rob. I will post 30 a night beginning tonight and ending Thursday equaling 120. On Friday we will have a special "120 Days of Love" PicSpam which consequently is the 120th day of the year.

Me:

1. I admit, as shallow as it sounds, the first thing that drew me to Rob is the way he looks. I could not have built a more perfect man. In fact, I had no idea such a thing existed. His hair,  his eyes, his cheekbones, his lips, his jaw, his chest, his broad shoulders, his long legs. He is proof of the existence of God. Clearly He called in a favor from Michaelangelo in the making of this man.

2. Ultimately it was his voice that lead me to where I am today. Whether he is speaking, laughing, or singing, his voice sends shivers down my spine. I crave hearing him. He sounds like an angel and the devil all in one religious experience.



3. My biggest turn on is a man with a great sense-of-humor that is also able to laugh at himself. It is easy to imagine a man like this man helping you through the rough spots in life and not taking anything too serious. Someone that would be fun to hang out with no matter what we were doing.

4. He never leaves his socks on the floor for me to pick up. As a matter of fact, Rob never asks me for anything and doesn't expect anything from me. He is the only person in my life that doesn't make demands of me.

5. I love that he's unpredictable. He's the wild card. You never know what you'll get from him. Silly, sexy, intelligent. I can never wait to hear what he will say next.



6. I love that he has a good heart. Sensitive, kind, and generous.

7. I love that he's unpretentious and never tries to be something he isn't. He wears the same clothes he's worn for years and will talk about it on national television. He smokes and drinks and says fuck. He's a real man and I'm betting he could treat me like a real woman. *wink*

8. I love that no matter how shitty my day has been when I see him smile; I smile back, his voice relaxes me, and the knowledge of his existence gives me hope.

9. I love that everything he does is done with forethought and passion. He chooses roles he believes in rather than the money or exposure they will gain. I love that his music is soul bearing, that everything he feels, he feels strongly and is still able to go with the flow and be lighthearted.

10. I love grey boxer briefs.

TwilightCupcake

Okay Top 10 Reasons I love Rob - keep in mind I am happy to be writing this after Remember Me because I used to be a Robward fan and now I am officially a Rob & an Edward fan separately!

10) I love Rob and hate him for making smoking look sexy. If anyone could cause me to give up my anti-smoking campaign on my patients it would be him. No one else in the world should be given the chance to look that sexy whilst killing themselves slowly.

9) I love Rob for putting adorkable into my daily vocabulary.

8) I love Rob for bringing back music into my life. Thank you Rob for helping me remember that my piano is there for me and not just the kids and for inspiring me to learn a new instrument in my 30's (although I can't play that guitar worth the life of me but I dream that he is watching me somewhere smiling when I'm holding it).

7) I love Rob for reinforcing that quirky British humour can be a total turn-on. Even if spunk ransom and being allergic to vaginas makes no sense unless you know the punch line.

6) I love Rob for inspiring a Ken doll that I finally want to take to bed with me. 

5) I love Rob because his smile makes me want to blush and turn away giggling.

4) I love Rob because his sex stare makes me want to unzip his pants and drop to my knees.

3) I love Rob for making the homeless look chic again.

2) I love Rob because he loves cupcakes (and I swear I was twilightcupcake before his cupcake love came out).

1) I love Rob for making it sexy to be yourself - even if it is a bumbling British guy who can't drive, play a sport except darts, or dress himself properly. 

Tongue Twied

10. I love the possibility of the future roles he will play in film, tv, stage. I want him to have a long career and I want to be cheering him on the whole way!

 9.  I love that jawline, those eyes, the sex-hair, tight neck, long fingers--let's just say all of his physical "ass"ets!

 8.  I love how nice he always is to the fans. (proved by Kelly's story at My DicomRobulation!)

 7.  I love Rob's enthusiasm toward Twilight and how he has embraced and vocally paid tribute to Stephenie Meyer's characterization of Edward

 6.  I love Rob's combined musical talents of singing, playing piano, playing guitar, and playing the harmonica, as seen in How to Be)

 5.  I love Rob's sense of humor and ability to completely poke fun at himself. He's a funny honey!

 4. I love how Rob has even won over my Mom who previously kept questioning why I had a crush on such a young guy and was slightly worried for my marriage because of the excitement I had talking about him. But he's gotten to her now, too! lol

 3. I love how he interacts with his family when they have been part of his interviews.

 2. I love how he has grown in interviews from adorkable to mature and insightful.

1 . I love how Rob is this magical crush and has become a daily presence in my life.

Thank you to Tongue Twied and TwilightCupcake for helping tonight. Go check out their blogs and see the wonderful things they have going on.

NHS - The death throes of a sacred cow

"Old Sawbones" is an established consultant
surgeon with many years experience working both
inside the NHS and private practice who cares
passionately about his vocation

An insider's view by "Old Sawbones" - our man in the know inside the NHS

I admit to being an anti-establishment critic. I have written about 100 letters to broadsheets and medical journals over the past 10 years, but there has been little public reaction.

Off the record, many apparently agree with what I write, but they daren't put their head above the parapet for medico-political reasons such as conflict with their work on committees or private practice. Basically, the motivations are money, power and prestige -the self interest factor.

In it's present form, our NHS was unsustainable even before the credit crunch, but as a country in collective denial and with politicians of all shades terrified to say the unsayable, we muddle along. Cancer cure rates and other indicators of success in medical treatment are already near the bottom of the European league.

No other country has a Healthcare system funded purely from taxation alone. Our NHS is not free, and there are financial restrictions on what care we receive. Whilst emergency care remains free, dental care certainly does not, and many people still pay for prescriptions. There is a post code lottery, and "NICE" admits that it's recommendations over cancer drugs have to be influenced by the cost. Thus we don't necessarily receive the life prolonging treatments available in some other European countries.

We have been graded as low as 18th by the OECD in the European league, and while health care systems throughout Europe (and indeed the world) struggle to contain costs, the most successful ones had mixed funding. Sources include "top up" patient's private medical insurance (in some cases compulsory), "Social Insurance" paid by the employer as in France and Germany, and voluntary contributions. So, with rising costs from expensive new treatments for an ageing population, I see no alternative to some form of direct payment such as charging to see a GP - as in Eire.

Perhaps we should turn a blind eye to the European Working Time Directive, as already happens in many, mainly Southern, European countries which don't slavishly follow it in every detail. This may be politically unacceptable, but there is no reason why today's doctors cannot work a reasonable amount out of hours, as still is the case in many parts of the world.

How can doctors bear to simply shut up shop at the end of the day?

There is some truth in the aphorism that from being a vocation or profession, medicine is now just a job. It is no longer a way of life, and a privilege to practice. I fail to see why today's GPs cannot work out of hours on a reasonable rota or with acceptable cover. With regret, I suspect it may simply be that they haven't got the resilience, stamina and staying power to do so. The "new" GP contract must be rescinded. If motivation were a patient, it would surely be on its last legs!

Another controversial measure would be to allow direct patient referral to specialists as occurs in many countries world wide. Patients know or can find out with help from the internet what specialist they need to see. But the GP as the gatekeeper to secondary care has to validate this. Often this is a waste of GP time and, of course, money. Unfortunately, there are too many vested establishment interests at heart here and the BMA trade union exists to preserve them.

And then of course there is immigration with its attendant costs to the NHS, the myriads of managers and jobsworths, "health and safety", and the compensation culture to consider...

I don't see our health service surviving in the long run, it's time expired, but the public and politicians have a blind spot - and our devious deluded dissembling PM wants to "protect" it!

NHS - The death throes of a sacred cow

"Old Sawbones" is an established consultant
surgeon with many years experience working both
inside the NHS and private practice who cares
passionately about his vocation

An insider's view by "Old Sawbones" - our man in the know inside the NHS

I admit to being an anti-establishment critic. I have written about 100 letters to broadsheets and medical journals over the past 10 years, but there has been little public reaction.

Off the record, many apparently agree with what I write, but they daren't put their head above the parapet for medico-political reasons such as conflict with their work on committees or private practice. Basically, the motivations are money, power and prestige -the self interest factor.

In it's present form, our NHS was unsustainable even before the credit crunch, but as a country in collective denial and with politicians of all shades terrified to say the unsayable, we muddle along. Cancer cure rates and other indicators of success in medical treatment are already near the bottom of the European league.

No other country has a Healthcare system funded purely from taxation alone. Our NHS is not free, and there are financial restrictions on what care we receive. Whilst emergency care remains free, dental care certainly does not, and many people still pay for prescriptions. There is a post code lottery, and "NICE" admits that it's recommendations over cancer drugs have to be influenced by the cost. Thus we don't necessarily receive the life prolonging treatments available in some other European countries.

We have been graded as low as 18th by the OECD in the European league, and while health care systems throughout Europe (and indeed the world) struggle to contain costs, the most successful ones had mixed funding. Sources include "top up" patient's private medical insurance (in some cases compulsory), "Social Insurance" paid by the employer as in France and Germany, and voluntary contributions. So, with rising costs from expensive new treatments for an ageing population, I see no alternative to some form of direct payment such as charging to see a GP - as in Eire.

Perhaps we should turn a blind eye to the European Working Time Directive, as already happens in many, mainly Southern, European countries which don't slavishly follow it in every detail. This may be politically unacceptable, but there is no reason why today's doctors cannot work a reasonable amount out of hours, as still is the case in many parts of the world.

How can doctors bear to simply shut up shop at the end of the day?

There is some truth in the aphorism that from being a vocation or profession, medicine is now just a job. It is no longer a way of life, and a privilege to practice. I fail to see why today's GPs cannot work out of hours on a reasonable rota or with acceptable cover. With regret, I suspect it may simply be that they haven't got the resilience, stamina and staying power to do so. The "new" GP contract must be rescinded. If motivation were a patient, it would surely be on its last legs!

Another controversial measure would be to allow direct patient referral to specialists as occurs in many countries world wide. Patients know or can find out with help from the internet what specialist they need to see. But the GP as the gatekeeper to secondary care has to validate this. Often this is a waste of GP time and, of course, money. Unfortunately, there are too many vested establishment interests at heart here and the BMA trade union exists to preserve them.

And then of course there is immigration with its attendant costs to the NHS, the myriads of managers and jobsworths, "health and safety", and the compensation culture to consider...

I don't see our health service surviving in the long run, it's time expired, but the public and politicians have a blind spot - and our devious deluded dissembling PM wants to "protect" it!