General Chat

Is anyone up for a good old debate.
When I first came on here there used to be some
very interesting ones which most of us enjoyed.

Now don't look to me because I don't mind adding my
thoughts on subjects but am not a great debater.

So please feel free to start it off, look on it as a challenge :-)

Best to avoid politics and religion!
And sex.
And climate change.
And evolution.
And immigration.

Safe debate is harder than safe sex. Lol.

Here we go then.

There was something on the local television last week about a man who contracted some sort of virus which has robbed him of all of his limbs and he also has to have a prosthetic mouth because his lips have been eaten away by it.

He has been progressing extremely well and is very positive about his condition, even to the extent of taking part in charity events.

at the present time he is fitted with little prosthetic legs that leave him about four foot tall and has been told that the high tech legs that would enable him to work and provide for his family more easily and to lead a proper life, for want of a better word, are only available to the armed forces.

Now, I am not in any way saying that the armed forces should not have access to these limbs but they are in a position to weigh up all the consequences of the job for which they are trained whereas this man could not, in any way, have avoided his fate.

Discuss/

Sharron is it that they are only available to the armed forces or that they are only available if paid for privately ( as in not on the NHS) ?

Because in that sense then the armed forces having access might be 'costed' in on insurance and military costs rather than the NHS.

Sharron I totally agree.
The armed forces (volunteers) receive a lot of benefits - I am always annoyed by the number of places that provide free admission or free membership for members of the armed forces.

I think it was on the NHS.

I kind of hoped I had not put anything that could be agreed or disagreed with but was trying to open it up to debate.

As a general observation I would hope that the NHS would be in a position to provide whatever medical treatment etc that was 'best' for every patient.

As a general observation I would hope that those who have been in the services had the 'best' treatment for physical and mental trauma also.

But as to what the NHS can and should be able to afford.... maybe if they cut down on doling out drugs that people don't actually want to take, and drugs to counter the symptoms of the first lot of drugs, then there would be more money in the pot?

Is this the same man you posted about Sharron ?

I have also seen him on a being interviewed on television..... beware graphic content. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581574/Father-one-loses-three-limbs-half-face-flesh-eating-bacteria-started-common-cold-just-FOUR-months-ago.html

I am with Rose here, so many people waste the resources of the NHS, whether by booking appointments they don't keep..... demanding medicines they don't need e.g antibiotics for conditions that could be overcome by caring for themselves ...... repeat prescriptions for items that they no longer need, that are still filled because no review has been undertaken.... whether by overworked GP s or whatever...... and don't get me started on grossly overpaid managers in hospitals !

Debate !

Yes, I think that is him.

I used to enjoy the debates our teachers organised for us at school. They did their best to show us how to stand in front of the class & argue 'our case' on whatever side of the discussion the debating teams were allocated.

These sessions usually turned out as a bit of banter on some subject or other. We were regularly reprimanded if we deviated too far from the topic under discussion & it was definitely a 'no-no' to besmirch or belittle any other participant personally just because they had an alternative view. It is perfectly possible to air our views without being disrespectful to opponents.

Radio phone-in hosts keep a list of hot topics by their microphones. When the lines go quiet, the presenter simply reads out a contentious statement. They know very well that listeners are easily wound-up & enjoy being irritated. We all like to have a personal opinion & we sometimes even enjoy being enraged. Certainly, we all like to leap to the defence of our favourite cause.

I just wonder sometimes why radio phone-ins go a bit awry when personal put-downs are added. Is it to befuddle the listener(s)? While we should be careful about whose opinion we listen to, we should also be magnanimous in our criticisms. And we can empathise with alternative views even if we don’t agree with them.

Ok - bash away!

Most debates on here are useless for me, although I have always enjoyed discussing and debating.

Why?

I will not debate politics, religion, sex ................. people get far too hot and angry about it

and

too many topics are UK-oriented,

eg politics ............ I understand a lot about UK politics, but have shot down if I dare say anything, and no-one in the UK seems to be that interested in anything BUT UK politics. All that has helped solidify my policy of "do not debate politics"

NHS and this case .................. it sounds terrible, and surely the guy should get equal treatment. BUT, from the point of view of people overseas, your free treatment by the NHS is way ahead of anything anyone gets in almost any other country. Yet most Brits keep moaning about what they are or are not getting.





soooooooooooooooooooooooo


if anyone can find a safe topic, and if bullies can be persuaded not to post jibes, snipes, threats, etc.................... then it would lovely to have a good old debate.

how about people who are constantly on their mobile phones - everywhere you look - mothers pushing babies in prams on their phones, on public transport - on their phones - in restaurants - on their phones - walking along the road - on their phones - I was sitting on a local train station waiting for my train home and thought to myself - a mass murder could take place here and I'd be the only witness - everyone else is on a phone

I was a member of the school debating and public speaking societies and they taught me a great many skills.
Sadly, in modern society those skills seem to be disappearing and yet they are so useful in day to day life.
Should schools be encouraging this type of extracurricular activity more in a bid to help develop life skills?

so Emma, what's it to be, mobile phones for school debating and public speaking societies - the choice is yours - or can someone else come up with a topic for debate?

Ann I have been pleasantly surprised to see this thread
gone as far as its gone without a backlash of bickering,
thank you all for taking part and please feel free to carry on
with what ever gets you debating.
Sylvia may have a point, maybe we should make an attempt
to hear and learn what others have to say about their part of
the world, you never know it could be quite interesting.

It is so important to have an open and understanding mind about other people and places so yes, that would be very interesting indeed.

well to respond to Sylvia, I don't think most Brits keep moaning about what they are or are not getting - that's a rather sweeping statement, and in my opinion, not true

AnnC .................

you have obviously never looked on the British Expats site

it's quite the eye-opener

we didn't know Canada / Australia / S Africa, etc etc was not like England

we can't buy brown sauce, bread like we used to get in England, we have to pay for our medications, we don't free bus passes.


I'm not telling porkies ............. I've heard too much of it, on GR, on BE, and in "real life".

Got that in Portugal as well, Sylvia :-|

Errol ..............

I used to love the debating society, even though I was not that good at it. I did enjoy being the mediator :-)

Debating societies are still a big thing in many high schools over here, both public and private. They meet after school for practice debates, have debate competitions in city, province and country, and then go to International debating competitions.

It is however an out-of-school activity here ................ I seem to remember being taught debating in English class in high school, as well as having the debating society. I also remember having a debate once or twice in French class :-D



Does anyone remember questions in class and on exam papers "Compare and contrast .........."?

We used to get that kind of question in English (comparing and contrasting poetry, novels, etc), and in biology, geography, history, etc.


I don't think that kind of teaching is done now, at least not over here.

Most school teachers seem to use multiple choice questions .............. which doesn't do the student much good when they get to a university and are faced with writing an essay