Allies?!

 Some of you may have seen a recent interview where the Vice President of the USA, J D (couch shagger) Vance was somewhat disparaging about the armed forces of the UK, claiming they've not fought a war in over 40 years, as if their own record of seeking out, or even starting conflicts at the drop of a hat is something to be proud of.

Well hold my beer!

UK forces have consistently stood and fought side by side with US soldiers in all most every conflict involving the USA since World War 2. We supported the US militarily during the Korean war, both Gulf wars, the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war, in case Mr Vance hadn't noticed.

On only two notable occasions have the US or UK been in a conflict without the other. One was in the South Atlantic, when the UK fought Argentina for the liberation of the Falkland Islands. The US was conspicuous by it's absence there and left the UK to fight it out alone 8000 miles from home. Nonetheless UK forces delivered a decisive victory there in just 10 weeks, managing without the US perfectly well. The other occasion was the Vietnam war, which the UK wisely decided not to get involved. It lasted nearly twenty years and ended when the US withdrew in disarray, panic and chaos. They lost that one.

Same game, different result.

And now it looks as if the USA won't support Ukraine unless they can make a profit out of it. This time, hopefully, not just the UK, but the whole of Europe will step up to protect their neighbour. I think we can manage.

Slava Ukraini

Chaos

 The shitshow going on across the Atlantic is becoming so massive and multifaceted that it's becoming difficult to follow. Imagine what it's like living there.

But make no mistake, it's going to affect us in the UK too. Take just these two aspects which could be plots from a comedy show if they weren't serious.

Firstly gynaecomast Elon Musk wants to rename the English Channel the "George Washington channel"! Good luck with that. Have they not noticed that our neighbours in Europe all have different names for the channel. Nobody seems to care.

Secondly it looks as if Trump is about to impose tariffs on the EU and UK next, claiming that the hefty trade deficit that exists between us is somehow unfair. Listen fat boy, we can't help it if you don't make anything we want to buy. It might help if you didn't fill all your consumables with a mix of toxic chemicals that are banned over here. Astoundingly he feels that it's outrageous that that we pay far less for our pharmaceuticals than they do. Well that's because of entirely internal factors that allow US drug companies to massively price gouge.

DZ has hardly ever bought anything that comes from the USA, not deliberately, but simply because not much american stuff seems to make it's way over here. There is Budweiser I suppose, if you like beer that tastes like creosote. (Unlike Czech Budweier, which is simply divine.)

So buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Hopefully things will work out OK in the end.

Pharmacology

 

This picture is doing the rounds at the moment, in which Elon Musk can be seen clearly exhibiting gynaecomastia. 

He is known to have had male pattern hair loss from quite a young age. He's also known to have had hair transplant, so the hair loss is assuredly something he's sensitive about. It's likely that he is, in view of this, also taking Finasteride. 

Finasteride is a drug that has been around for a long time, having originally been developed to treat Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy. It is a long term treatment. It was discovered that it can counter male pattern baldness with up to 80% of affected men seeing some hair regeneration with long term use.

But in pharmacology there's no such thing as a free lunch. Finasteride is a Testosterone inhibitor and there are potential side effects. These include loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, and gynaecomastia.

The late Chuck Jones once said, "A fanatic is one who redoubles his efforts when he has lost sight of the original objective." In his efforts to project an image of youth and vitality Mr Musk may well have been hoist by his own petard.

Quote for today, 21 January

 "Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars."

Martin Luther King

Coincidence

 While we're on the subject of Christmas.

New year

 Somewhat belatedly, Merry Christmas, and happy new year to anyone who reads this page.

Plus ca change

 I've written a number of posts here on the subject of bullying and harassment in the NHS. If you're interested just type "bullying" into the search box top left.

Various politicians through the years have claimed to have introduced initiatives to address this, and to ensure that whistleblowers are protected. None of these have had the slightest effect, as a recent case illustrates.

In 2020, not one, but three neurosurgeons at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham were judged by independent assessors to have been performing surgery "incompetently" for some time. Yet another case where the appraisal/revalidation process proved completely ineffective.

Concerns had been raised by a senior nurse as early as 2017. They were not only ignored, but the nurse was disciplined by the Trust. 

I wish I could say I was surprised, but sadly I am not.

Par for the course really.