2026-05-26T19:34:35Z https://yabu.me Paul Brownjohn https://yabu.me/npub1acy85sawzeryzadyn0rjk5zt7jec7h3y2mtfy7u6updhl92kmrasjzw8jd https://media.social.qoto.org/accounts/avatars/000/828/447/original/bab2c52f5753ed5b.jpg https://media.social.qoto.org/accounts/avatars/000/828/447/original/bab2c52f5753ed5b.jpg https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsvpasawsf4dldrkr8gvq70ym4t9rzd28ax4dhqpdeqz2qas9nd5ygzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0k8zlsw7 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsp5frjy3wpfurd8qkn7jnxecr8htfuqg0pzjhdcsne3pjeegy49dq6f3cyg'>nevent1q…3cyg</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>As a career contractor/consultant, yes, all my interactions without exception with HR departments have been utterly dismal to say the least.<br/><br/>After having worked for the EU for 12 months as a senior Oracle consultant, my boss asked me if I would consider going permanent. I said yes, I would and he said he would send my CV down to HR to see what they could put together as an offer.<br/><br/>When their offer came back, HR made it clear that I was absolutely expected to accept their overwhelmingly generous proposal as they had taken the trouble to send it to me. I responded by asking them why they were quoting a weekly wage when monthly is the usual format in that country. Needless to say I did NOT accept!<br/><br/>The offer was at the level of the statutory minimum salary for the country I was working in and not even a living wage in that country. It was substantially less than half what I was already earning and didn&#39;t include a company car which the company I was working for, did!<br/><br/>Another amusing happening was when I was offered a contract by a US bank with branches in Europe. They insisted on the most MASSIVE vetting even of contract employees. I received a panicky phone call from my brother whose wife was the personal assistant to the officer responsible for security in the British military, so the moment some US detective agency started making enquiries into my family, alarm bells started going off all over Whitehall. It reached the stage that Whitehall officials were talking to the FBI and CIA about it! 2026-05-09T10:22:09Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsv38clgju30ju3a4cnv4cwqrqpn8s7h49x2accumr0kl8q2fg3j3czyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0klxd0x9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsr3alge6hccs353ec8qu7g5dmzutuglp5kqlvqlzu9exrpxhnwxwqpjswuw'>nevent1q…swuw</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I would uneasy if I were american. There are quite a few Iranians in the USA who are still very devout Shia Muslims and who might will consider martyring themselves to avenge the death of the ayatollah! 2026-03-01T11:22:22Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxxzx0jfkkmnky3safakqqushfsn8n7ncel24vutmct7v2xypjvrgzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kz045fr In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8vtyj9uj6cglx3dt46h7hv7mj9x0l4dzqf3p52jehhlzt2ngzm4swc8u4d'>nevent1q…8u4d</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I find it slightly odd that there is this massive panic over jury-less trials when that was the case in Northern Ireland for years and there was no outcry. 2026-01-24T15:25:32Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfvuqwtq7m75u7e6cz2kqmt4w8vr6k0kx3efsee2gyxhn0ffafg7szyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kt7c5rw In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyfffpkwctdz4u973ca2mlzqth0fkxqy5g7pql86rl30qxnkfvpuqrz3tgw'>nevent1q…3tgw</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Aren&#39;t our governments wonderful - at a time when the NHS is crying out for more staff especially nursing staff, the government maintain in place policy that massively reduces healthcare recruitment into the UK from overseas! 2026-01-13T06:42:44Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs8zr9f0k3jqt8tzdr4p7ewfct4lh4wzyqev3qcyayuwx6ccl2dlrczyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kn94hql In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsfazkx4sr7epkz4wkmk6wxfmh80a2ltv06skryq2jf6084ffuj7zs0ky3y5'>nevent1q…y3y5</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Back in the mid-1960s I was fortunate/unfortunate to have been subject to the tender mercies of the NHS mental healthcare services. At age 15 I was admitted to bottom rung of NHS psychiatric care in a state of catastrophic depression. The hospital in which I was treated as an inpatient for 6 months, was Amberstone Hospital which was part of the Hellingly Hospital group of hospitals. That included Amberstone for relatively minor treatable mental/emotional illnesses, &#39;Park House&#39; for middling to severe or more intractable mental illness and Hellingly &#39;Main Building&#39; for long stay gravely mentally ill patients which included a number of &#39;locked&#39; wards along with a secure unit. There was also a unit called &#39;Park Farm&#39; which as its name suggests was a working farm and market garden. Most of the labour was provided by patients who were judged to need &#39;sheltered&#39; accommodation and employment due to their relatively fragile mental/emotional state. The farm also supplied much of the hospital kitchens need for farm produce. One thing that stands out in my mind about that 6 months is how excellent the food was; that was in part due to Park Farm&#39;s fresh produce and a group of caring and competent chefs and other kitchen staff. <br/><br/>In keeping with modern trends, Amberstone Hospital is now office for NHS pen-pushers, Park Farm has long since been sold off and it&#39;s vulnerable workforce/residents pushed out into no-care-whatsoever in the community. Park House and Hellingly itself have also gone and been replaced by unthinkably tiny acute psychiatric units integrated into local general hospitals that are no substitute whatever for the long term care that they used to provide to the very vulnerable. <br/><br/>The idea was a laudable one but as it was subject to implementation by civil servants like Sir Humphrey Appleby who don&#39;t give a damn about anyone or anything other than making their minister look good to the voting public and cutting costs whilst incresing their head count of pen-pushers, it suffered from that very British malaise of monstrous under-funding! 2026-01-03T14:45:14Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsqt5xxdh2jdlz000xuhxqg6pfu4pwx8c5z2e774ta06g52tpnh9sczyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kvjjrzs In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdk7cywfrzw6karqp56qpy64tx7xwzvk3atm3g027v448ehyknessk8pxk2'>nevent1q…pxk2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>This also puts me in mind of &#34;care in the community&#34; for the mentally ill and emotionally vulnerable. Another cost saving measure that turned out, shall we say - much less kindly than advertised.<br/><br/>Many vulnerable people were pretty much abandoned to live in poor quality accommodation with little support from healthcare professionals. 2025-12-30T10:33:30Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs867rg703fue4plnp9sfe92s0j7prz42vz9x30utwa6yxg55vrpygzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kamv7qe In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxq4lgya3h02n7g3uvsupzpuchvqrhhf6q24u7s3udqyn06l0cyxc29fkzx'>nevent1q…fkzx</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I can&#39;t help feeling that the NHS is tackling the problem in an arse about face manner - it seems to me that what is needed is the provision of low dependency care areas in NHS hospitals to which recovered patients can be moved from acute wards whilst they wait for suitable long term accommodation thus unblocking desperately needed beds in acute wards.<br/><br/>I live in Luxembourg and I cannot help but compare the delivery of healthcare here with that in the UK. The capital Luxembourg City (population about 136,000) has 3 major hospitals and a further 5 or 6 minor or specialized ones including a dedicated children&#39;s hospital and a huge dedicated rehabilitation unit for the victims of strokes and accidents. <br/><br/>In Europe, it is 2nd only to Germany in terms of the number of ITU beds per head of population and was able to to accommodate numerous patients requiring ITU care from Eastern France when that area completely ran out of ITU beds during the Covid pandemic. 2025-12-30T09:49:43Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsz2stq542qjrakya00p23hcwv6jxm6wprdy0sen9rf8dfl2y68q9gzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kg6mn4k In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxq4lgya3h02n7g3uvsupzpuchvqrhhf6q24u7s3udqyn06l0cyxc29fkzx'>nevent1q…fkzx</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I have been wondering for some time why the NHS don&#39;t implement some sort of half-way-house care system for patients who are blocking beds in acute medical or surgical wards but who don&#39;t need the nursing and medical care provided on a hospital ward. Of course, it might be better still to hand the patients needing a high level of care back to the NHS (as was the case in the past) leaving the local authorities to offer care only to the reasonably fit and healthy elderly.<br/><br/>Bed blocking due to the inability of the local authorities to provide suitable accommodation is paralyzing large parts of the NHS and something needs to be done to address this issue! 2025-12-30T08:05:42Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszu5dweyjn2lkuzn2mqc5nrzr6jsvqhk0n6m2zmczdyprpkaxxtuszyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kry7r6r I was watching a video made by an American woman married to German who was astonished to find that life in Germany is far better than in the USA. <br/><br/>She was frightened that the healthcare wouldn&#39;t be up to US standards - she found it was better in Germany! She was entitled to 20 days of fully paid vacation along with all public holidays (as are all employees in the EU), sick pay and loads of other advantages that most Americans never see in their entire career! <br/><br/>The average US citizen is completely ignorant of the way of life in any other country and therefore sucks in all the bullshit about how the USA is the greatest country on earth. The USA is a great country if you are rich and prepared to exploit the poor but for everyone else, is a fuckin hell-hole! 2025-03-04T15:20:50Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsyywg9034ylpmz882rqnaczc53e3plf67u28t02ddw7fskwtn2cuqzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kep4mqc In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsdjj5cmr5wrr2tathy5zza5cagtjrl5hgf0c60ylsawedg8ec5apqkhfmnw'>nevent1q…fmnw</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Apparently, Ryanair, one of Europes largest airlines is gig-only. Theeir pilots have to set up as self-employed and are contractors not employees - so no holidays, no sick pay, no employee style benefits whatever! 2025-01-21T20:10:21Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs9rk0cajst7qx443wk9v72exavzhc5g8zwtsdap6rqhlkw9lq9seqzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kg9n0hr In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs23fgtj5qekjnhuh3dsdqnd7yhcd3p8rdvcrj0vh5kajz4msdcjaqqfzchm'>nevent1q…zchm</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>You mean like the USA rejecting the metric system? 2025-01-17T16:05:53Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsgt7pgq08t9fhgzmxtu0uf3scq8ecuwhyrwavl56y67fpplw2lq5gzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0k2qhsw9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszd6p5f2vxc6j6mds4zx0hkdxen8jj0est00jpzyfmlwxttw64n7c7hulwh'>nevent1q…ulwh</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Has the British government made any effort to consult with countries like Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg who have had provision for euthanasia on their stature books for years? I doubt it! The British can never take good advice from others - it somehow diminishes them! 2025-01-16T07:45:07Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs0j6x6ysnsh0k3zaq4l0rrnnfklls50s5p4sgzspulxuldxf7fmtqzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0k4a9n4e In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsg0tjc76mkexxnvxltj3agt6xkgptgs6f9ult0xlnr6z6dmt00hrg0wqmqx'>nevent1q…qmqx</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I fear that means that as a nation, the USA believes that being able to kill people who are both poor and ill or &#39;defective&#39; in some way is right and proper. This is precisely what the Nazis did to the handicapped and infirm - so isn&#39;t it heartwarming that the good ole USA feels able to do the same but passively, by denying them the medical treatment they need to stay alive, rather than actively by using gas chambers. 2024-12-11T10:14:57Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsd6kwuk07yxsndrgv5nsy7kv7vg7u88rwkpf9uch8fph39q70m9fczyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kcrjdmu <img src="https://media.social.qoto.org/media_attachments/files/113/572/420/552/005/450/original/450dd6f03bd6502e.jpg"> <br/> 2024-11-30T14:40:16Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszkjp44gakf9xsycc8te6rapc6meuu9gtp7et48grg5xa6u9ztp5gzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kjcp7p8 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8ytdug49s5ekgts2lpw79m2lztlhtr6f6r29my0w0smj2uvcweuc53grjg'>nevent1q…grjg</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>A huge increase in defence spending might provide just the economic boost that European economies need so long as the politicians box clever and buy weaponry manufactured in Europe not in the goddammed USA! 2024-11-27T14:39:12Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs9tstuq6e54yk4eqpux7wr3vdwc5x3e05r5htespycj4faw63vddgzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kklnuh4 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsgq0zhwukeww7mxr9rm67qc584ht3a40tcx3z57rncuf28ynf9gvc3had0w'>nevent1q…ad0w</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Indeed!<br/><br/>What makes me very angry is the fact that the British government doesn&#39;t seem to have consulted the many other countries that have had assisted dying legislation you years!<br/><br/>They have the data about how it pans out so why not ask them!!! Why reinvent the wheel? 2024-11-26T10:27:52Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfquyav3qjkxtzawxvd7hmn4masqqkkzux7dnejja7n736qgseeuqzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kz048jh In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrxktdwzq38tngzue7qvfcaxlhzwv708xgzpgp0xgdd9g2czf22ycrmgkh7'>nevent1q…gkh7</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Absolutely not! <br/><br/>The disciplinary committee of the GMC are prehistoric in their views. 2024-10-27T17:40:34Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsyqjm4fjm8mz8ryzls4xr0shp8f27lq7fpj4w04rtg9adlylyawgqzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0k7wlrwz In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs808prlcaj2dycua4u4utzp2zhpxx6rq2ahf4gu0ftq2x490m7lxsu267mz'>nevent1q…67mz</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Personally I prefer the name I invented - &#34;Twatter&#34; but I don&#39;t know whether it works in versions of English other than English English 2024-09-24T13:12:34Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqst398qzdpcfkvyzfmwvy4z02q0tv866fkulpcx798rkxcgkw4hnsgzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0kcxedm8 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrvqsxf5vtjplz6nq26ne39twkuzk9y7vma4qpu9jlzdkeky08rqsk5pgt2'>nevent1q…pgt2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Well gosh! Have they run out of women and children to murder in the Palestinian territories already? 2024-09-23T11:18:54Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsrtmya3mdgfvwpg6w3gl0ur33je33rlu90lyv2gdaxtmw9u7z88gczyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0ksefz2t In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsffhvmfaflwhhv593kfldvu4q0c2rssjvv4gxveajjw6yh9pxrv2qnrjdx9'>nevent1q…jdx9</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Not just the Midlands and the north but right across mainland Europe.<br/><br/>Never mind - it&#39;s almost certainly caused by global warming but selfish bastards keep buying gas-guzzling SUVs that pour out CO2 making things worse! 2024-09-23T10:36:58Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsx3qqvlrl6tlhzqf28rm4csjka2sms037snkvcmnuqz8l4m0kjrtgzyrhqs7jr4ctyvst45jduw26sf06t8r67y3tddynmnts9klu42mv0k583gmn In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsd59j4gdsuu8vdzcnyzner8w3z93zcdvlueqknjamwz6ydq923h2cg5z2ja'>nevent1q…z2ja</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I was intested to see when witnessing the demolition of a building constructed of reinforced concrete, the care with which the drivers of the demolition machines separated the steel rebar and RSJs from the mass concrete. I understand that the rebar then goes to one of the local steel works to be remelted and the concrete is processed on site into aggreagate to make further concrete.<br/><br/>This is in Luxembourg where recycling is quite advanced! 2024-08-04T07:31:05Z