Matthew Schutz http://jta.org/user/profile/64011 en-us rcsillag@jta.org Copyright 2009 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I guess it depends on the report. The Red Cross was unable to find evidence of illegal use of White Phosphorus, for example. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Odd. David do you think launching 7000 missles at civilian targets is a provocation? 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 IN the UK Waiting room times appear tyo be 4 hours due to statistical slight of hand. There is a policy which limits ED waits to 4 hours. If the back up exceeds 4 hours people are warehoused in ambulances or in other departments of the hospital. Since they are not in the ED they are not counted against the wait, but on the other hand they are not treated. You had asked for an article discussing the deniual of life giving meds. I gave you an article on the denial of life giving meds. I am uin thge process of getting the research on The NICE denial of care based on cost. My Step Daughter HAs a general practice physician and a referral. Do NOT tell me what my child experienced. You have NO Clue. It took 7 months of agony to get an MRI. That is documented. I find it insulting that you think I have some ulterior motive in speaking the truth. MY work has little to with the medical profession. As to the quality of UK Medical care I ran across the following this morning on the WSJ Web Site: See The Best of the Web: Two for the Price of One Patricia Pearson is lucky she wasn't in England when her appendix burst. London's Daily Telegraph reports that the National Health Service gave Mark Wattson two government appendectomies for the price of one: Mr Wattson, 35, had his first appendectomy on Tuesday, July 7, after being told that his appendix was the cause of abdominal pain he had suffered for several months. He said that doctors informed him that the procedure had gone well. He was discharged the next day. Yet a month later, Mr Wattson was taken to hospital after collapsing in Swindon town centre. He was told by doctors at Great Western Hospital--where his original operation had taken place--that his appendix had burst and that he needed an emergency appendectomy. He was readmitted for surgery and released following the second--successful--operation on August 9. The Telegraph reports that Wattson "claims that he lost his job because his employers did not believe that he needed to have the operation twice." Look on the bright side, Mark: You might have lost your job, but at least you didn't lose your health insurance. The Daily Mail, meanwhile, reports that "thousands of women are having to give birth outside maternity wards because of a lack of midwives and hospital beds": The lives of mothers and babies are being put at risk as births in locations ranging from lifts to toilets--even a caravan--went up 15 per cent last year to almost 4,000. Health chiefs admit a lack of maternity beds is partly to blame for the crisis, with hundreds of women in labour being turned away from hospitals because they are full. Now, in fairness, this isn't quite as bad as it sounds. When Brits say babies are being born in "toilets," they mean "rest rooms," not the fixtures therein. ("Lifts" are elevators and "a caravan" is a trailer.) Anyway, don't worry. According to former Enron adviser Paul Krugman, "In Britain, the government itself runs the hospitals and employs the doctors. We've all heard scare stories about how that works in practice; these stories are false." As a Monty Python doctor once asked, "Any other problems I can reassure you about?" 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 As far as denying life giving drugs are concerned I would refer you to the British Medical Journal. The Article cited is far too long to be reproduced here however the link is: www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=487742 You have a similar issue as far as life expectancy is concerned. In the US we treat newborn infants who are in distress. In nations with socialized systems they do not. By choosing to treat seriously ill newborns we can salvage some, unfortunately others die; The ones who pass are counted against infant mortality statistics. In socialized systems these children are untreated and they all die. They are counted as still born and are excluded from the stats on infant mortality. This again boosts the performance of these systems as against the US system. You do not talk about other illnesses such as cancer. I am somewhat familiar with with the Quebec medical system. My wife is a Montreal native. Her kids still live in the Montreal area. I took ill several years ago and needed to make an ER visit to the local hospital. I was seen within 1/2 hour. My Step daughter has serious nut allegeries. She accidently comsumed some products containing nut traces. (Given her usual care in this no one is quite sure how it happened) There was a three hour wait. Thank God she had her epipen. The UK has a statute that mandate no long than a 4 hour wait for service in hospital emergency rooms. The problem, is that waits can be much long than that. In order to get around the statute people are warehoused in ambulances. actual waits typically are 6 to 8 hours. Canada has fewer diagnostic machines per 100.000 people and fewer treatment slots. My other Step Daughter had chronic back issues. It took her 7 months to get an appointment to get an MRI. In the states waiting more than a few days is unheard of. For this daughter the delay meant months of extra pain, but she recovered. If one has cancer the dalay can mean that one moves from having a treatable illness to a terminal one. Canada also has fewer cancer treatment slots per 100,000. This again means delays of months in treatment after diagnosis. There are times when waits exceeed 6 months anbd people are sent to NY State for treatment. This results in a 30% higher death rate from cancer in Canada over the US. What good is health coverage if you can not get timely treatment? 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I read Ari's post and he posits 3 questions; 1) Which country anywhere has any form of forced euthanasia 2) Why they all have better life expectancies, despite the death panels 3) Whether you were against death panels when they were first introduced by Reps? I would like to answer them in order. On the euthansia issue. Two points. Oregon has an assiosted suicide law and a single payer state wide insurance system. Cancewr patients have recieved letters from the Oregon insurance authorities telling them that the system will not pay for their cancer treatments but will pay for their suicide drugs. Futhrmore in the UK there is the National Institute foir Clinical Excellence (NICE) NICE decides what treatments the national Health Service will pay for and which it will not. If a treatment costs more than $22,000 to extend life 6 months, it will not be covered. What is the differencve to the patient if he or she is refused treatment and dies or is actively killed? As to the life expectancy issue, there is a reason for that. The US has a much higher homicide ad fatal auto accident rate than in the rest of the developed world. For example our Homicide rate is 8 times that of France. Adjust for these factors and the US compares quite favorably with any industrialized country. The current end of life counseling deals with things like living wills and medical directives and the like. There are firm statutory guidlines as to what the counseling is to be about. The proposed death panels have no guidelines They will be governed by a commission modeled on NICE. One wonders what advice they might give considering that the p[oint of the commission is to contain costs. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Assuming for purposes of this discussion the charges are true, it is very disturbing. Halacha requires that we follow the law of the land we live in. How can one justify money laundering? By cleaning the proceeds from extortion and bribery. one is a participant in these henious acts. Whether or not you agree with the prohibition on the sale of human organs, it is currently the law. It may cause an artifical shortage of organs,but the proper approach is to change the law not violate it. Frum folks are human just like everyone else. They have the same merits and flaws as all of us. Prosecute the violators, punish them if convicted, and the community will learn a lesson. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 There is a great deal of controvsersy over Rachel Corrie's death. What is clear is that it was an accident. Ms. Corrie ran in front of a bulldozer clearing explosives in Rafah. Investigation of the incident reveals the driver did not see her due to the construction of the equipment. There are some photographs of Ms. Corrie but it is unclear if they were taken that day or on an earlier occsaasion. What is very controvsersial is where she died. There are conflicting reports that she was dead at the scene, she dided subsequently at the hospital she died enroute to teh hospital and the cause of death, Suffocation, internal injuries etc. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 This is terrible. Goivernment health care means lack of Freedom, lack of choice and poor health care. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Regardless what one thinks of Rabbi Sapperstien, the fact of the matter is Obamacare is bad care. It needs to be defeated. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I would observe as long as there are mullahs in Iran who call for the destrction of Israel adn are willing to fund groups like Hebbollah and Hamas to do so. Then you can not have peace. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I would just observe, assuming that Israel in fact has nukes, nuclear weapons in the hands of stable democraies such as Israel, India and the US are much less threatening than nukes in the hands of unstable or nondemocratic regiemes n(Pakistan, North Korea and Iran) 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I read the article and found the following most telling: The summary continues, with Mr. Sweetser quoting Roosevelt: “ ‘Suddenly it struck me: why not get all the democracies to unite to share the burden? After all, they own most of the free land of the world, and there are only ... what would you say, 14, 16 million Jews in the whole world, of whom about half are already in the United States. If we could divide up the remainder in groups of 8 or 10, there wouldn’t be any Jewish problem in three or four generations.’ ” Roosevelt is calling for the end of the Jewish people. He is calling for a great dispersion of us and in 3 to 4 generations we would be assimilated, no more Jews. Is it any wonder that he did not exert himself? 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 It is a classic strategy based on Mohammed's actions in the Koran. Get a Truce build your strength and then attack. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Legally there is huge difference. Great Gritian claims the Falklands as a wholly owned territory. Israel occupies the West bank and exerts some controll but does not recognize it as wholly owned territory. Its status is subject to negotiation between the parties.. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I think a religious exemption for civil union recognition is reasonable. While I am not fully comfortable with the concept, this is clearly a public policy issue and the various state legislatures have the right to regulate in this field, subject to first amendment concerns. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 As I understand Netanyahu's position, it is not opposition to a two stae solution, but rathger the PA is not ready to be aq state. He has proposed a seris of economic reforms to the PA to give them a basis to create a viable state. This is much better than creating a State now that is destined to fail. One only need look at the chaos in Gaza to understand this. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I would just observe that nothing will change in Venezuela, as long as Hugo Chavez remains in power. He runs a virtual dictatorship, and as Natan Sharansky has noted, dictatoprships need enemies botrh internal and external to change the focus of the people from serious government caused problems, to scapegoats. Jews have filled this role through out time. In the last century Nazi propaganda blamd Jews forGermany's internal woes. Under Stalin Just before he died he had started a campaigtn against us. Thank God Stalin died before the plans he had were put into full effect. If you want security for Jews in Venezuela, pray for the downfall of this tin horn dictataor. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 May Madoff's name be obliterated. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 I would just observe that the Canadian government has the right to allow in whom ever they want. Since these folks are not Canadian citizens, they have no right to demand entry into Canada. Every nation has the right to control its borders. The US for example excludes Nazis, Communists, Gays, HIV infected. felons, and about 20 other classes of non citzens from entering the country unless thay secure a waiver for the Department of Justice first. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Indeed. On the other hand when one thinks about jackbooted goosesteppers, Nazis are the first thing to pop into my head. Mr. Oliphant I am sure is aware of the asssociation, that is why he chose to use it. I would again point out and to which you haven't responded, the other groups you mention have some history in form or another oppression of political or ethnic minorities. Exactly how is that any better? 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Tamar don't be silly. Islam is a religion of peace, don't you know? 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 What Mr. Goldbarg forgets is that Nazis marched in goose step wearing jack boots. By having a Jackboooted goosesteping figure holding a mogen david one is equating Jews to Nazis. He speculates that the figure might be Russian. Maybe, but is that any better as a comparison? Considering the nature of the the Soviet and post Soviet regiemes, their massive abuses of human and civil rights, mass murder, Deportations and the like. The real difference is that the Russians have better PR. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 What trash. Mr, Oliphant completely misunderstands the situation in Gaza. He goes not understadn Nazism and he does not understand self defense. His time has gome and is long gone. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 AIPAC is a lobbying organization and like them or not are protected by the first amendment. As far as who thay ally with, I have same real prpblems witrh certain aspects of Mr. Hagee's theology. On the other hand, I would note considering who are opponents ally with, I will take all the help we can get. We can accept his support of Israel's existance and discuss our theologiocal differences. Second the comment about Hitler being a tool of God, In Judaism there is belief that anything that happens is God's will, from the small thing like the falling of thealves to our greatest joys and our greatest sorrows. We may not understand why God does as he does and we can certainly question it, but if you accept this view, the fact something happens is proof that it is His will. The resolution you refer to is the resolution branding the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. I am not getting what is so controversial about that. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 This is classic totalitarian stuff. Blame somebody else and we Jews are the whipping boy, if we happen to be present and sometimes even if we are not. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Agriprocessors was not the only game in town in the Kosher Business. Admittedly there are issues involving the company and no excuses should be made for their violations of the law, but on the other hand there are other players in the field and so far as I am aware none of them have been implicated in any of shenanigans the brought Agriprocessors down. The people in Kosher Business are human and subject to the same frailties as anyone else. For example one of Agriprocresspor's critics PETA had severalof leadership indicted and convicted of animal cruelty for taking stay animals illegally euthanizing them and then dump the corpses. Never you mind their efferts to equate meat eating with the holocaust, equating the American Kennel Club with the KKK and other pranks. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 Perhaps there is something wrong with me. I don't understand how losing an election costs one the right to aqdvocate for policies. Mr. Arnold. also seems to have little perspective. I would note that the biggest killer of the last century were not religious fiolks of any stripe, but atheists. World wide the various communist regimes killed over 100,000,000 million people. Nazi and Facist regimes killed 20,000,000 million more. Exactly how many folks have religious Jews or Christians killed in the 20th century? Even if you include radical Islam in the mix trhe numbers pale in comparison. I would suggest the joke is not Republican veiws, but rather bigoted ones. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00 The point of bail is to ensure that the defendant will appear for trial. If the case can be made that the defendant likely to attempt to evade prosecution, then high bail can be imposed or no bail granted. 2009-11-20T;16:30:00-05:00