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• ‘Complements’ and sweet talk Dr. Edzard Ernst, a prominent professor of alternative medicine, is interviewed in today’s Independent talking about his new book, Trick or Treatment. From what I gather, it gives alternative medicine a bit of kicking, demonstrating its ineffectiveness when subjected to randomised controlled trials.Two interesting points strike me about the article.The first is that whilst Dr. Ernst is very critical about the complementary medicine industry, he doesn’t shy away from criticising... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 22nd April 2008 in Healthy Conversations
• Dealer not Healer? Trevor Phillips has once again demonstrated his unwavering ability to make a statement and cause a media flurry. In the latest edition of Prospect, he discusses conservative academic Shelby Steele’s thesis on why Barack cannot win the presidential election. Essentially Trevor/Shelby’s argument is that Barack can’t win because he represents the false promise that America has reconciled its’ racial divides. By positing himself as a unifier, he papers over the real... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 28th February 2008
• President. Period. Is there a reason why every single article I read on BBC News that mentions Barack Obama, says that he 'aims to become the first black US president'?Two points:Surely Obama is aiming to become President, rather than a black President. Did he ever have an alternative option of aiming to be a white President?Beyond grammar, I wonder whether this also highlights how he is viewed in the media as an 'other'. The BBC don't seem to feel it neccessary to highlight that Clinton will be the first female... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 16th January 2008 Comments (1)
• Is there always a T in equality? Reading Salon.com over the weekend I came across an interesting pair of articles, about the imminent passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) the first American federal gay civil rights legislation. It looks that for ENDA to be passed, proposed protection for gender identity will have to be removed and so only cover sexual orientation. In effect, this means that transgendered people will not be covered by the legislation.This has provoked a debate amongst activists as to whether... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 18th October 2007
• Everyday Democracy Today During a conversation in the office the other day, we were discussing the place of Everyday Democracy in the current political climate. If there's any doubt as to it's present day relevance, here's Barack Obama a few months ago, explaining his decision to run for the Democratic nomination. He outlines his belief in the need for a new American politics, and that political renewal can only be achieved through the values of everyday democracy. It would be really interesting to hear what other... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 16th October 2007 Comments (1)
• Grey Majority vs. Ipod Generation I was at Tory Conference yesterday speaking at a Fringe event organised by the Smith Institute & Reform, entitled 'Advancing Opportunity: the grey majority versus the ipod generation', looking at economic and social fairness between generations. continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 2nd October 2007 Comments (2)
• NHS Productivity Opening the papers this morning, it looks like Derek Wanless has thrown the efficiency cat amongst the NHS pigeons. We already knew that a large proportion of extra NHS funding went on staff wages, yet according to Wanless we have seen little increase in productivity. Improvements in smoking cessation and increased life expectancy are being countered by increasingly poor lifestyles/obesity and rising health inequalities between rich and poor.According to NHS statistics total staffing (FTE) in... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 11th September 2007 in Healthy Conversations Comments (2)
• GP hours - Time for change? According to the Times today Alan Johnson is set to challenge some of the terms of the GP contract by proposing that GP’s open surgery out of hours and on weekends.  This has met with some criticism from the BMA, who argue that other professionals don’t have to work weekends, and that out of hours work would mean a reduction of normal hours service.There are genuine questions to be asked around how to shape our current model of GP care to best suit the healthcare requirements... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 10th September 2007 in Healthy Conversations Comments (3)
• Lips don't lie? It's with interest that I read Birmingham County Council has introduced telephone lie detector tests, sorry voice stress tests, for claimants calling their benefit office. Whilst on the face of it, this seems to have purported benefits (apparently Harrow Council has saved £110,000 in three months during a pilot scheme), I wonder at what costs?I would think such measures begin to subtly change the dynamics of the claimant-staff interactions (already quite fraught one would imagine),... continue reading Posted by Faizal Farook on 9th September 2007 in Trust and local government Comments (1)

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