Holistic health regulation
This morning I got to be interviewed by broadcaster Michael McLoughlin for his show "Behind the Issues" on Annalivia FM. At least one person got to hear the show by chance (hi Yvonne!). So maybe they have not been completely decimated by 106. Anyway Michael did his best George Hook and fired questions at me on the
regulatory issues involved in alternative medicine.
In short there is little in the way of policy leadership coming from government. It is nearly 4 years since Michael Martin as minister initiated a consultative forum, set up a working group, and got the IPA to author a report delivering on Action 106 of another report - the 2001 Health Strategy, "Quality and Fairness". See
Report and Launch speech hereThe working group has been on the case for about
two years
Geldof is a moral inspiration
It is a privilege to have broadband in order to be able to hear the moral clarity of Bob Geldof. He was up at 6am on March 11 to launch
Our Common Interest:The Report of the Commission for Africa with Brown, Blair and a host of politicos. You can download his speech in braodband and narrowband here at the
Commission for Africa website and it is inspiring.
"...Let me tell you what the cost is....
One half stick of chewing gum for each citizen of the G7 countries, a half stick each a day.."
I love hearing Geldof talk. Feeds into a childish pride of a fellow Irish man, the guy my parents tut- tutted about when he cursed the narrow-mindedness of this country in the seventies. But this transcends childish morality. None of us is pure. We can all be small minded and habitually selfish. But to hear about this stuff is to be snapped out of one's self-indulgent trance, to be reminded that I am one of the very lucky people on the planet, a rich person [ in global terms] living in a liberal democracy. I'm going to read this report.
The political bit: In an answer to Brian O' Connell of RTE news, Geldof was searing in his criticism of the government's reneging of it's promises on Overseas Development Aid (0.7. per cent of GDP on ODA by the year 2007). This promise should be a non negotiable component of any Programme for Government enacted by a government of which Labour is a part.
European Dream
The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament invited Jeremy Rifkin, author of The European Dream, to speak to them a few weeks ago. Daniel Cohn-Bendit was in the chair. There are MP3s of the speeches, and even a little video. Interesting and entertaining! Click below to go there! The Greens/EFA group support the ratification of the new EU constitution.
http://www.greens-efa.org/en/issues/?id=38
EU Constitution again
Last night saw another round of internal labour party debate on the European Constitution.
Prionsias DeRossa MEP, Michael McLoughlin, Roger Cole and Brendan Young slugged it out again. Roger had the room scattered with tricolour-emblazoned pamphlets which warned of the dangers of getting caught up in nouveau european imperialism.
[ I just know Zapatero and Shroeder are planning to carve up Africa, look at their shifty eyes! ] He outlined a rather paranoid view of europe (one to which I subscribed myself 13 years ago). Brendan Young's piece was more interesting for those on a democratic socialist trajectory. For Brendan the words
competition and
market are negatives in no uncertain terms. He also implied that it is the fault of the EU that the Polish economy is in a mess, causing Poles to resort to coming here for work...nothing to do with decades of communism I suppose. This was rather old left analysis, one which should be left behind in the seventies.
While I sympathise with the workers in SDS I don't really see the necessity for parcel post to be state-run, nor do I see competition in delivery of commercial post to be anything but a good thing for european economies. And the fact that Polish workers can come here and be entitled to all kinds of rights under European law should be welcomed.
Proinsias de Rossa outlines what will hopefully be accepted as the Labour Party's analysis
here.
