All entries for March 2006

Fetch Gordon Brown some aspirin. He'll need it.

When a news story happens so slowly that it's practically impossible to see, it often gets ignored in favour of the fast-paced action-packed news story.

It's often left to social commentators such as Polly Toynbee in the Guardian to recognise slow-burning problems and suggest remedies. Not they'll ever do any good.

One such problem which is almost certain to cause Gordon Brown to reach for the paracetamol is, ironically, the NHS.

Sir Nigel Crisp, the chief bureaucrat in the National Health Service resigned today, admitting that the service's financial crisis was his greatest failure.

I think he's being hard on himself. The financial crisis in the NHS isn't his fault – it's the fault of government policy which is determined to use rising debt as an excuse to cut uneconomical services. Cottage hospitals will have to go not because of government targets but because of the market – or that's what they want you to think, anyway.

Because the rising debt in the NHS is a completely predictable by-product of introducing marketisation into the Health Service. Certain procedures need to be carried out, but if the government is only willing to pay 99% of that operation's cost, then the hospital performing the operation will go into debt. Add up all the deficits and you have the £620m debt that the NHS predicted in December for this financial year (the unofficial figure is considerably closer to £1bn).

It's all well and good to try and force hospitals and NHS trusts to be more efficient by getting them to cut costs. But certain things have a fixed price, and you can't just stop performing heart bypasses because doctors cost more per hour than you've been budgeted for that operation.

Inefficiency in the NHS needs to be tackled in new ways – and ways that don't rely on market principles. Because yes cottage hospitals are relatively inefficient, but don't the positive effects of a self-sufficient local community deflect the added costs of providing health care at a local, accessible level?

Perhaps the government needs to undergo a transplant so that it realises that efficiency isn't the be-all-and-end-all of running the country.

: 07 Mar 2006 19:19 |  Tags: Gordon Brown Health Labour NHS Politics |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Christianity and its Discontents

I've been watching with interest over the past few weeks and notice the amount of debate on Warwick Blogs about Christianity has been increasing quite steadily.

I'm guessing there's a few factors involved in this sudden interest:
– the Christian Focus week on campus this term
– delayed reaction to the Jerry Springer musical and the Danish cartoons
– evangelicalism and its increasing efficacy
– increased interest in the abortion issue

But I'm particularly interested by the number of TV documentaries studying the new role of Christianity in British society.

First there was Richard Dawkins' polemical The Root of All Evil? a couple of months ago – a programme I enjoyed, although it was hurrendously biased and could have been less one-sided. And yesterday evening was Rod Liddle's Dispatches documentary about evangelicalism and its role in the new City Academies.

Rod Liddle's documentary was probably a more accomplished piece, as it had a lot more journalistic rigour, and Liddle came at the subject as a Christian himself, albeit one worried by the rise of evangelical Christianity.

He noted the involvement of the owner of the Reg Vardy car dealership in City Academies in the North of England. There, the school ethos is driven by Vardy's Christian values, but in a slightly cynical fashion and also in a comprehensive school. The key problem here was that people within the school's catchment area that disliked its Christian principles had no alternative but to send their children there.

Exclusions at the school were sixteen times higher than any other local school, and evolution was taught alongside creationism, a practice which is technically illegal. Parents were understandably angry.

It wasn't so much a damning criticism of Christian beliefs as a criticism of the government's blatant scramble for cash that provided the motive for City Academies.

I don't think there's been a particular resurgence in the ability of Christian groups to spread their message, although the slow rise of evangelicalism is a notable long-term trend. So why is there this sudden reaction to a force that has been around for so long, and used to be such an integral part of British life?

I'd suggest that many of Christianity's critics are becoming more vocal now because there's a sense of urgency following the failure of multi-culturalism in the UK. For if cultures are to be successfully sewn together, wouldn't a neutralisation of religious beliefs enable greater cohesion?

Alternatively, is this attempt to neuter Christianity a way of making followers of other religions appear more radical to the casual observer?

I hope that if it is deliberate, then the neutralisation of religion in British society is because of the first reason, not the latter. But in attempting to soften the impact of Christianity, its critics need to remember that such a tactic may provide greater impetus for the more radical sections of that religion, notably evangelicals.

: 07 Mar 2006 19:04 |  Tags: Blogging Christianity Evangelicalism Religion Television |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Want 25,000 records?

RaW is selling its vinyl collection for just £2000. Interested?

We have 25,000 records which we're finally moving out after 35 years! Our fancy new DigiPlay system means most of our music is now played off computer, and the vinyl collection is taking up valuable space!

The sooner we can shift the vinyl, the sooner we can renovate the station and continue the work we started with our shiny new Studio 1 over Christmas.

If you're interested, send me a message or e-mail it(at)radio.warwick.ac.uk

: 06 Mar 2006 22:20 |  Tags: Music Radio RaW Records Vinyl |  Comments (6) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The Oscars – who SHOULD win…

They probably won't… but here's who should win at tonight's Oscars:

Best Film:
Good Night and Good Luck

Best Director:
Paul Haggis or Bennett Miller

Best Actor:
David Strathairn

Best Actress:
Felicity Huffman

Best Supporting Actor:
Jake Gyllenhaal (but not a particularly strong category)

Best Supporting Actress:
Rachel Weisz

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Capote

Best Original Screenplay:
Match Point

Best Documentary:
Murderball

Of those, I might get best actress and supporting actress right, and maybe adapted screenplay, but the rest of the awards will go to far less deserving films (in my opinion).

Incidentally, my top five Oscar-nominated films…

• Good Night and Good Luck
• Match Point
• Crash
• Murderball
• Capote (admittedly, I've not seen it, but the writer's great and the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman looks very good)

Now sit back and watch my predictions go up in flames…

: 05 Mar 2006 20:14 |  Tags: Film Oscars |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Listen to this

I'm often on here plugging some tinpot radio production I've put together, but today I'd like to plug someone else's. Have a listen to this from this morning's Today programme.

link

John Humphreys showing up the complete idiocy and incompetency of the neo-cons. It had me jumping out of bed and shouting at the radio.

It was that good.

: 03 Mar 2006 11:33 |  Tags: Guantanamo Bay John Humphreys Radio |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Question

Where is the Boar!?!?!?!

Anyone have a proper answer?

: 01 Mar 2006 16:19 |  Tags: Boar |  Comments (8) |  Close comments |  Report a problem