[freedom] twilight's last blogging

These are not my words but they could be:

Imperfect, divided, mutually quarrelsome as often as not; we still see the threats approaching and try, as best we can, to rearm the shrinking world of freedom and the culture it springs from. Even when things look as black as they do today for freedom’s cause, we need to fight and fight again, and plan and persuade and rage and swear and sneer and joke wherever and whenever we can.

Because the bad guys aren’t going to stop. So let’s hear it for Themistocles: the dirty, sneaky, pig-headed father of the West’s survival.

Please read the whole thing at North Northwester.

[first aid quiz] will your patient die

1. What can a rescuer do to help a victim in shock?

a) Give the victim some water
b) Elevate the victim's feet
c) Cover the victim with a blanket
d) Both b and c

2. What should NEVER be placed on a burn?

a) Aloe
b) Water
c) Cocoa butter
d) Dry sterile dressing

3. How should a bee stinger be removed?

a) Wash it off
b) Scrape it off
c) Pull it out
d) It shouldn't, leave it in

4. Which of these is the most medically trained?

a) EMT
b) Paramedic
c) First responder
d) Firefighter

5. How long before the brain starts to die through lack of oxygen?

a) 15 - 20 minutes
b) 0 seconds
c) 3 - 4 minutes
d) 10 minutes

6. What is the first principal of First Aid treatment?

a) Preserve life of First Aider, casualty and bystanders
b) Make records to prevent litigation problems
c) Prevent casualty from getting worse
d) Promote general health of casualty

7. The contents of workplace First Aid boxes should include

a) Cotton wool and tweezers
b) A face shield and dressings
c) Aspirin tablets
d) Burn creams, calamine lotion and aloe vera

8. Nosebleeds are usually treated by

a) Putting a cold compress on the casualty's neck
b) Blowing the nose
c) Pinching the soft part of the nose and leaning the casualty forward
d) Pinching the soft part of the nose and forcing the head upwards

9. Treat a minor cut on the hand at your workplace by

a) Cleaning and stopping the bleeding
b) Find the First Aid box and your gloves
c) Find the accident book
d) Do nothing until help arrives

10. Treat a scalded hand by

a) Putting butter on the burnt area
b) Cool burnt area with water for at least 10 minutes
c) Put flour on the burnt area
d) Put ice on the burnt area

11. To treat a broken leg

a) Get the person to walk to a chair for treatment
b) Get the person to move the leg to check if broken
c) If possible, keep the person still until the ambulance comes
d) Practice and experiment with splinting techniques while waiting for the ambulance

12. The main reason that the recovery position is used for unconscious casualties is in order to

a) Keep the back straight
b) Prevent the casualty vomiting
c) To make it easier to monitor their condition
d) To keep the airways clear

13. Since November 2005, resuscitation guidelines have recommended compressions and inflations at a ratio of

a) 10:2
b) 30:2
c) 1:5
d) 5:1

14. A bang on the head requires a medical check if

a) The casualty vomits
b) The casualty is disorientated
c) The casualty has blurred vision
d) All of the above

15. To help a choking adult casualty

a) Ask them to cough, then slap on the back x 5, abdominal, thrusts x 5. Repeat as necessary
b) Perform abdominal thrusts immediately, as no time to waste
c) Reassure them and call for help
d) Do not move them until help arrives

16. If you think a person has swallowed 16 tablets

a) Walk them up and down to keep them awake
b) Quickly make them sick
c) Take them by car to hospital
d) Keep them still and call an ambulance

Answers [highlight to see]
1 [d], 2 [c], 3 [b], 4 [b], 5 (c), 6 (a), 7 (b), 8 (c), 9 (a), 10 (b), 11 (c), 12 (d), 13 (b), 14 (d), 15 (a), 16 (d).

Further 1, 2

[barefoot doctors] primary health care

This was more than a little interesting about the state of medicine in China when the communists came to power on the backs of the peasantry:

With trained doctors in short supply, the central government in 1951 decided that basic healthcare in the countryside should be provided by health workers rather than by fully trained physicians. In 1957, there were more than 200,000 such "village doctors" whose administration was under the responsibility of the local authorities.

While these village doctors had received only basic training and could not treat complicated cases, their impact was considerable and especially so in preventing minor ills or wounds from developing into complex medical problems and in implementing nation-wide vaccination campaigns.

After the cultural revolution, they were allowed to upgrade to be local village doctors but then:

The rural health system started to collapse in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a result of China's economic liberalization and the privatization of agriculture ... many diseases that had been eradicated re-emerged in the countryside.

Primary care, even in the cities, is almost non-existent and with no independent doctors or neighborhood clinics, people have to go to hospitals even for simple healthcare needs.

With hospitals told to finance their own costs and 79% of the population having no health insurance, the burden on the average Chinese is considerable, with the result that many simply cannot afford any healthcare at all.

Primary care in the UK is eerily reminiscent of the Chinese situation:

The NHS inherited a maldistribution of resources, especially in London. where the main hospitals were concentrated in the centre of the city. London's lack of adequate primary care coverage and over-reliance on hospitals for treatment have created recurring problems.

The Labour government in the 1970s attempted to redress the balance by transferring resources from hospital care to primary care, limiting the growth of better served regions, and favouring the development of some underfunded specialties, like medicine for the elderly. This led to hospital closures. The policy was continued by the Conservatives in the 1980s.

As a person who doesn't use the health services [touch wood], I can't comment on how bad it is in the UK but it doesn't seem to be running much better than in China.

[restrategizing] this blog in the coming weeks

Many bloggers don't feel the need to explain but I'd prefer to, if only for the benefit of friends who check in here to see if things are all right.

I've been right in the middle, since last Friday, of the process of shifting house and a couple of job nibbles have come up, meaning train travel. The effect on the blog is unfortunate.

While I still have substantial internet access these few days, there'll be some posts of the kind readers know but more erratic this week. Sometime this weekend it's going to change and until BT or whoever give me a connection, it's going to be from the library for the hour they let you have. The new connection won't be for some weeks as there are other priorities like getting house things in, so this might even run up to my birthday.

Visiting fellow bloggers is going to be the main problem. Posts can be pre-prepared and put up in a couple of minutes but visits take time and my blogroll is long. My priority order is going to be to visit the most regularly interactive with this blog, mybloglog visitors, sitemeter referrals, Bloghounds and then the main and second lists. Aim is to get round to the latter once a week and the main people every day.

Can't see any other way to do it but at least the blog won't be dead.

[cheerful news] if you're a favoured bank

This was interesting to me on the personal level:

Bank of America (BAC.N) is close to receiving billions of dollars of support from the U.S. government as it tries to digest Merrill Lynch, the investment bank and brokerage it bought on January 1. Merrill has billions in troubled assets -- ranging from commercial real estate to subprime mortgages -- that suffered during the brutal fourth quarter.

Isn't that nice? So now the taxpayer over there is expected to shell out for some takeover, merger or other corporate move its directors decide on. The bank can move with impunity, knowing they're going to be "bailed out" along the way.

It would be nice to have a business where the government takes such a kindly interest in my welfare rather than slug me for every dollar/pound they can get their hands on.

And what of Mandy's £20bn? Favoured sons, eh?

By the way, the "personal level" was referring to when I went for a position and we were assured that BOA was the safest bank in the world. Is that right? Doesn't need a bailout then, does it?

[ambience] would you wander around central town at night

Should be rocking - instead, nothing

The bulk of the day was spent in town and it brought some things home with a vengeance.

The area is well planned. We have Asda, Tesco, Aldi and carparking space for anyone. The arcade is sane, with shops people would actually want to buy from and the sprinkling of coffee concessions are enough. Asda has a nice caf too.

On the other side of the complex are the high street banks, solicitors, estate agents and so on. And don't forget the market and other supermarkets. Truly, anything you need is in here and not at an exorbitant price. It's not spread out but contained within a walkable distance. It really feels nice in there during the day.

So it all looks roses, yes?

Well, on paper, maybe. What is not immediately apparent though is that the council, in wanting to become local letting agents and landlords, have shrunk the market area and dictate what can and can't be sold, have exorbitant pay and display parking fees and avid parking officers who jump at writing tickets to slug the motorist crazy enough to venture into the shopping area.

My mate said that the market area used to be far bigger but the council couldn't control that completely so all market stalls were brought within a purpose built barn area, complete with those metal roller garage doors which come clattering down at 6 p.m. on the dot and open again at 9 the next morning. The area is dead between those hours.

No one wants to park there during the day, especially with a shopping park not so far away with free parking, no one wants to have the doors closed on them late afternoon and there is nothing but Asda to take you into the centre of town in the evening. Asda apparently begged the council not to charge for parking but the council weren't interested - there were pound signs in the eyes.

I wandered through the market last Friday, the day when they get their greatest number of people and the main stalls at the front with the food concessions etc. were lightly visited but the stalls further towards the back, which cost £30 a day - they were totally empty. Not a sausage. Apparently the by-laws and fees have surgically incised any desire on any potential vendor's part to sell what you're told you may in that place.

It's estimated that it is not the economic crisis, it is council action and Gordo's laws which have resulted in only about 60% of the projected numbers visiting the centre of town, the council therefore making a substantial loss and having made it, refusing to change its policy, believing that better times are round the corner.

Russia

I'm hesitant to put the Russkies up as a positive comparison, as much of what they touch turns to ashes but compare the two approaches in this.

In our town in Russia, Moscow money came in and wanted to set up a complex, a shopping village. All right, they built an Imax, various other things and then the main shopping centre on two stories, very modest. So, late evening, being a bit bored with tele at home, you could, for example, take your car down there, park for free and approach this broad brass and glass entrance way.

Immediately inside, on the left, is a giant DVD, CD and video lending and buying shop. On the right is a Japanese sushi bar which has international cuisine, graded from an excusive part to the cafe type part. Further along the ceramic tiled foyer are the fast food concessions, including pizza, tables and chairs, a two cinema area with the latest releases, ten pin bowling, a bar, a coffee shop and a late night supermarket. Up the stairs are the boutiques and flea markets.

The place is warm and welcoming and not only that, it has the main hockey stadium and skating rink nearby and is served by a four laned road bridge from the other side of town. The place rocks.

Now I come back to our town over here. For what, apart from taking the car to the chippy and back, would anyone want to go down there at night for? For what would you want to stroll about with your better half? Where are the shop windows to look in, with their inventive displays? Where are the early evening kids amusement places?

Where's the ambience? There's about as much ambience as a caravan park or an airport.

And why is this so? Because the people in charge, who make the rules about who can be where and what they can sell are local government, not businessmen, not entrepeneurs. Why, oh why, are these people in charge?