01-07-2017, 10:30 PM
*** 8-Jan-17 World View -- Violent protests in Sri Lanka over China's takeover of Hambantota seaport
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Britain's hospitals run out of beds as Red Cross declares NHS in 'humanitarian crisis'
****
![[Image: g170107b.jpg]](http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170107b.jpg)
About 6,000 patients per week are being left in ambulances because the hospital is too crowded to admit them (Evening Standard)
The British Red Cross is declaring the National Health Service (NHS)
to be in "humanitarian crisis," because 6,000 patients per week are
being left in ambulances outside of hospitals that have run out of
beds. When patients are left in ambulances, then the ambulances can
no longer be used to transport new patients in medical emergencies.
So the NHS has asked the Red Cross to help out by providing volunteers
and use Land Rovers to transport patients.
Red Cross chief Mike Adamson said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The British Red Cross is on the front line,
> responding to the humanitarian crisis in our hospital and
> ambulance services across the country.
>
> We have been called in to support the NHS and help get people home
> from hospital and free up much-needed beds.
>
> This means deploying our team of emergency volunteers and even
> calling on our partner Land Rover to lend vehicles to transport
> patients and get the system moving.
>
> We call on the UK government to allocate immediate funding to
> stabilize the current system and set out plans towards creating a
> sustainable funding settlement for the future."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Not surprisingly, a politician like Adamson is simply calling for more
money. I've been writing about the NHS for years, and the problem is
that there's no more money.
As we reported a year ago, Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is
facing an existential crisis, with a huge and accelerating deficit
expected to reach 22 billion pounds ($32 billion) by 2020.
The system is corrupt, with doctors falsifying records, claiming for
work that was never done, or putting in for bogus overtime. Dentistry
services are so bad that people are buying "do-it-yourself (DIY)
dentistry kits" to take care of their whole families, as was done
centuries ago.
In desperation to save money, many hospitals have had bed cuts, or
have closed their Accident & Emergency departments (known in America
as Emergency Rooms). Many maternity units have also been targeted for
closure.
One of the biggest farces of the 2016 was perpetrated by the "Leave
European Union" camp of the Brexit campaign. They promised that if
the UK left the EU, then £350m-a-week that is currently being sent to
Brussels would not be invested in the NHS. It was a total lie, and it
was retracted soon after the referendum passed, but it's typical of
the lies we hear from politicians on a daily basis.
It would be nice if it were possible to give free health care to
everyone, but it isn't. In America, both the Veterans Administration
and Obamacare are financial disasters. At least the NHS was designed
carefully enough that it was financially healthy for fifty years of
its life, but Obamacare was so poorly designed that it's a financial
disaster within five years of its life. Jonathan Gruber said that
Obamacare passed because of "the stupidity of the American voter," and
that same stupidity is continuing, in both America and Britain.
London Evening Standard and Reuters and British Red Cross and Guardian (London, 10-Sep-2016)
Related Articles
****
**** Violent protests in Sri Lanka over China's takeover of Hambantota seaport
****
Thousands of Sri Lanka's Buddhist monks and anti-government protesters
held demonstrations on Saturday that turned violent, protesting
China's takeover of Sri Lanka's Hambantota seaport by the Chinese in
repayment of a debt to the Chinese incurred by the government.
In 2009, China invested $1.2 billion in the port as part of its
"string of pearls" strategy to surround India. Sri Lanka had expected
to repay the debt through profits earned by the port, but the slowdown
in trade throughout the entire region in the last few years has meant
that Sri Lanka has been unable to repay the debt.
Now Sri Lanka's government has been forced to give China a 99-year
lease to take over the port. In addition, China will lease 15,000
acres in the region for an industrial zone for Chinese factories.
China is expected to invest another $5 billion in Sri Lanka for
industrial development.
At least 21 people were injured on Saturday in violent clashes between
government supporters versus those opposed to the plan, the latter led
by Buddhist monks. The two groups threw rocks at each other, and
police responded with water cannon.
Opponents of the plan say that thousands of people will lose their
homes because of the project. They say that China will establish a
"Chinese colony" on Sri Lankan soil that will grow and can never be
removed.
Supporters of the plan say that China will invest $5 billion in the
region, and the new industries will generation 100,000 new jobs.
There are other international implications. China will have
responsibility for security at the port, which means that it the port
will host the Chinese military, including warships and submarines.
China already has similar seaports in Myanmar, Bangladesh and
Pakistan, and India is concerned that it's being surrounded by China's
military and warships. Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) and AP and News First (Sri Lanka) and BBC
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Britain, National Health Service, NHS,
British Red Cross, Mike Adamson, Brexit,
Veterans Administration, Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber
Sri Lanka, China, Hambantota, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Britain's hospitals run out of beds as Red Cross declares NHS in 'humanitarian crisis'
- Violent protests in Sri Lanka over China's takeover of Hambantota seaport
****
**** Britain's hospitals run out of beds as Red Cross declares NHS in 'humanitarian crisis'
****
About 6,000 patients per week are being left in ambulances because the hospital is too crowded to admit them (Evening Standard)
The British Red Cross is declaring the National Health Service (NHS)
to be in "humanitarian crisis," because 6,000 patients per week are
being left in ambulances outside of hospitals that have run out of
beds. When patients are left in ambulances, then the ambulances can
no longer be used to transport new patients in medical emergencies.
So the NHS has asked the Red Cross to help out by providing volunteers
and use Land Rovers to transport patients.
Red Cross chief Mike Adamson said:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The British Red Cross is on the front line,
> responding to the humanitarian crisis in our hospital and
> ambulance services across the country.
>
> We have been called in to support the NHS and help get people home
> from hospital and free up much-needed beds.
>
> This means deploying our team of emergency volunteers and even
> calling on our partner Land Rover to lend vehicles to transport
> patients and get the system moving.
>
> We call on the UK government to allocate immediate funding to
> stabilize the current system and set out plans towards creating a
> sustainable funding settlement for the future."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Not surprisingly, a politician like Adamson is simply calling for more
money. I've been writing about the NHS for years, and the problem is
that there's no more money.
As we reported a year ago, Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is
facing an existential crisis, with a huge and accelerating deficit
expected to reach 22 billion pounds ($32 billion) by 2020.
The system is corrupt, with doctors falsifying records, claiming for
work that was never done, or putting in for bogus overtime. Dentistry
services are so bad that people are buying "do-it-yourself (DIY)
dentistry kits" to take care of their whole families, as was done
centuries ago.
In desperation to save money, many hospitals have had bed cuts, or
have closed their Accident & Emergency departments (known in America
as Emergency Rooms). Many maternity units have also been targeted for
closure.
One of the biggest farces of the 2016 was perpetrated by the "Leave
European Union" camp of the Brexit campaign. They promised that if
the UK left the EU, then £350m-a-week that is currently being sent to
Brussels would not be invested in the NHS. It was a total lie, and it
was retracted soon after the referendum passed, but it's typical of
the lies we hear from politicians on a daily basis.
It would be nice if it were possible to give free health care to
everyone, but it isn't. In America, both the Veterans Administration
and Obamacare are financial disasters. At least the NHS was designed
carefully enough that it was financially healthy for fifty years of
its life, but Obamacare was so poorly designed that it's a financial
disaster within five years of its life. Jonathan Gruber said that
Obamacare passed because of "the stupidity of the American voter," and
that same stupidity is continuing, in both America and Britain.
London Evening Standard and Reuters and British Red Cross and Guardian (London, 10-Sep-2016)
Related Articles
- Britain's National Health Service (NHS) forced to close emergency rooms (14-Nov-2016)
- Britain's National Health Service (NHS) faces existential financial crisis (05-Aug-2015)
- History of President Richard Nixon's Wage-Price Controls (5-Jul-13)
- Obama's health plan, a proposal of economic insanity (25-July-2009)
****
**** Violent protests in Sri Lanka over China's takeover of Hambantota seaport
****
Thousands of Sri Lanka's Buddhist monks and anti-government protesters
held demonstrations on Saturday that turned violent, protesting
China's takeover of Sri Lanka's Hambantota seaport by the Chinese in
repayment of a debt to the Chinese incurred by the government.
In 2009, China invested $1.2 billion in the port as part of its
"string of pearls" strategy to surround India. Sri Lanka had expected
to repay the debt through profits earned by the port, but the slowdown
in trade throughout the entire region in the last few years has meant
that Sri Lanka has been unable to repay the debt.
Now Sri Lanka's government has been forced to give China a 99-year
lease to take over the port. In addition, China will lease 15,000
acres in the region for an industrial zone for Chinese factories.
China is expected to invest another $5 billion in Sri Lanka for
industrial development.
At least 21 people were injured on Saturday in violent clashes between
government supporters versus those opposed to the plan, the latter led
by Buddhist monks. The two groups threw rocks at each other, and
police responded with water cannon.
Opponents of the plan say that thousands of people will lose their
homes because of the project. They say that China will establish a
"Chinese colony" on Sri Lankan soil that will grow and can never be
removed.
Supporters of the plan say that China will invest $5 billion in the
region, and the new industries will generation 100,000 new jobs.
There are other international implications. China will have
responsibility for security at the port, which means that it the port
will host the Chinese military, including warships and submarines.
China already has similar seaports in Myanmar, Bangladesh and
Pakistan, and India is concerned that it's being surrounded by China's
military and warships. Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) and AP and News First (Sri Lanka) and BBC
Related Articles
- China to sell eight advanced submarines to Pakistan, encircling India (04-Apr-2015)
- China extends its military buildup with Pakistan (27-Apr-2015)
- India deploying 'submarine killer' planes to counter China's submarines (27-Jan-2016)
- Report: Sri Lankan government repeatedly torturing and raping Tamils (14-Jan-2016)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Britain, National Health Service, NHS,
British Red Cross, Mike Adamson, Brexit,
Veterans Administration, Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber
Sri Lanka, China, Hambantota, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
