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Let's see if you can read properly. If you are not satisfied with the standard of care offered from a universal public health system with regard to your made-up situation, then buy private health insurance. Companies like BUPA exist in the UK to supply this insurance and there are plenty of hospitals, doctors, health care clinics, etc which reside outside of the NHS to supply this market.

http://www.bupa.co.uk/

It works pretty well.

Canada is just one example of socialised health care though. In the UK for instance, private health care will get you a bunch of extras, but doesn't cover primary care at all (see the list of what it doesn't cover), as these are provided by the NHS - and it's usually the same doctors in any case. Which is why it's generally very cheap, and not many people have it - it's a luxury, not a necessity.

I don't know if you've seen it, but the Frontline documentary Sick Around the World's website has overviews of different health care systems from the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland, and talks about the costs, benefits and problems with each.

Monopoly healthcare. No choice healthcare.

Only if you believe the drivel forced down your neck by the US media.

Government healthcare is NOT monopoly healthcare or "no choice healthcare". Here in the UK I have the option of being treated on the NHS (government) or I can go private, it is entirely up to me.

Here are some useful links to anyone interested in private healthcare in the UK:

http://www.spirehealthcare.com/
http://www.bupa.co.uk/
http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/

Unfortunately I still have to pay for the government healthcare out of my taxes but that is not what you were complaining about at all was it?

(Anecdote != date, etc etc, every time I've needed treatment in the UK I've had it swiftly and efficiently.)

But, more importantly, there are plenty of private hospitals in the UK, and health insurance companies to help you pay for them. Bupa is one of the largest. If you want treatment that's better than the NHS it's easy to get it. Normally the difference is just in the level of comfort (the private hospitals are like 5* hotels). I don't think it's especially expensive, but you can always cancel it if money gets tight -- the NHS is still there.

> Well, he also thinks that a country that loses many times more people to cancer than the USA-- and has people with life-threatening conditions on waiting lists for months-- has a great health system.

Well, it's better than your free healthcare!

Seriously though, the really fantastic thing about the UK system is that it provides a baseline that you can't fall past. However bad things are, it's always there. Want better? Get medical insurance. For example, I pay Bupa ( http://bupa.co.uk/ ) £35-ish/month, which covers any tests I need done, and any surgery. That's not after an employer contribution, that's £35/month all in.

I think Mr Singh may find that evidence is against him.

Bupa (UK private medical insurer) say on their website that:

The scientific evidence for some of the claims of chiropractic is of variable quality.

Some studies show that chiropractic can limit acute low back pain and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends chiropractic for this condition. Back pain is pain that comes from the muscles, nerves, bones, joints and other parts of the back. If the pain lasts for less than three months, it's called acute back pain. If the problem goes on for longer, it's known as sub-acute or chronic back pain. The medical terms acute and chronic refer to how long the symptom lasts for, rather than how severe it is.

The Department of Health's report, 'The Musculoskeletal Services Framework for England' refers to chiropractic as a treatment option for musculoskeletal conditions (conditions that affect the muscles, bones and joints).

Whether chiropractic is useful for other conditions, such as migraine or tension headache, is uncertain - the evidence is limited. The research is often conflicting and while symptoms of some illnesses improve, the best evidence generally fails to prove that chiropractic cures illnesses. While there is anecdotal evidence and chiropractic treatment is accepted by many conventional medical practitioners, there is little scientific evidence to prove that it's effective. More research is needed.

The BBC is essentially an arm of the government.

...

It is much like the Obama healthcare "public" option. Publicly funded services will swamp privately funded ones and eventually the private ones will disappear. Yes, Fox News in the UK is threatened in this way by the BBC as insurance companies will be under Obamacare's public option.

There are two fallacies here, one is the public funding leads to government control and the other is the public and private funding can not coexist. The UK experience plainly shows the contrary.

Both the BBC and the NHS are publicly funded but they both have their own constitutions, charters and governing bodies which control them independently of the government of the day. The British might chose to elect a government that decides to override these protections. Similarly the US might chose to elect a government that on the one hand overrides the constitutional protections of the press, or on the other hand one that decides to create some form of public health care.

The idea that the NHS would drive out private practice in health care was the fear of many doctors when the service was set up, but over the sixty years of its existence this simply has not happened. Health care in the UK remains a mixture of private and public provision. There is co-operation between the two sectors.

The position in broadcasting is even stronger. While the BBC started as a state monopoly broadcaster this is no longer the case. Independent commercial radio and television stations have had a long existence in the terrestrial broadcasting and have expanded further with the onset of digital. Ironically Sky a Murdoch company was until the recent onset of Freesat the sole supplier of digital satellite broadcaster for the UK. Companies have set up profitable healthy businesses in this space despite the presence of the BBC.

And does this country you live in forbid you taking out private health insurance or is it really a matter of you have more choice than an American? Do you think that health insurance always works the way it is supposed to?

By your use of the term "national health" it sounds like the UK and I have listened to a lot of the debate in the US where they have made it sound like people in the UK are forced to use the National Health Service when this is not the case. There are many private health options and so it really is better than the US.

http://www.bupa.co.uk/ is just one of the options for the British, there is also the NHS....

An in the UK you can get private health care insurance if you want it. BUPA

The ignorance displayed by large sections of the US public is truly breathtaking. You have no idea how stupid you are all making yourself look in the eyes of the rest of the world, and a couple of months ago I would have said that was impossible.

Government health care by contrast, is forced on everyone. That specific fact is what makes it a death panel. The person does not decide for himself what he is insured against, and is forbidden from doing so.

... because in countries with government healthcare, private health insurance is illegal? Oh no, that doesn't seem to be true...

Private healthcare is absolutely not illegal over here. See http://bupa.co.uk/ for the best known company in the field. I think the general idea (leaving aside debate as to whether or not it works in practice) is that you don't / shouldn't "need" private healthcare, but if you want to pay for it in order to receive quicker treatment, more luxurious accomodation/food/etc, perform "unnecessary" surgery, etc, you're welcome to.

Some, such as in the better known autistic savant, do. And there's a whole bunch of stuff linking autism spectrum disorder and autism with certain abilities. But the bottom line is that without social skills (and I don't just mean trolling /. I mean kids and caregivers suffering because of the lack of) these guys are never going to do particularly well in life. So to your question "but don't said children also have their own special abilities that tend to be lost the more they are socialized?" I don't know any research suggesting autism can be "fixed" but there's plenty of evidence that in many cases those with autism can learn some social skills - some do really really well. Does this displace any additional abilities? Well, it might but it's probably more likely that they find themselves enjoying life a little more and have less need to repetitively engage in less social activities.

Helping yourself

Agreed. Unfortunately, over-imbibing is common. In some countries (yes, I'm looking at you, England) it seems to have evolved into a sport.

I definitely have no interest in a slow painful death

You shouldn't do that - you might get anaemia

another reason for people not to leave their PC. That blood clot disease, DVT, scares the crap out of me. While I think services like this may add value in some ways, I cringe at the thought of having another reason to spend time in front of the computer.

Right now, work, personal chatting/websurfing, coding and now movies. The point of sitting in front of a computer 20 hours a day(justified) is slowly becoming a reality.

Music is mobile. Movies are sedentary. lose

Like many things today, I think that expensive chairs are little more than a combination of marketing hype and psychological effect - after all, you must be getting some bang for your buck, right? Well, perhaps not as much as you might think. I know that I have an atrocious sitting posture, a cheap chair at work and a slightly more expensive one (leather, but still under £150 new) at home, yet no back problems. Why? Probably because I spend as little time as possible sitting in the things. When I need to ponder some problem I get up and wander around (preferably outside), I go and talk to people instead of reaching for the phone where possible.

Of course, we are all unique so YMMV, but for me motion beats luxorious comfort everytime, so why not give it a shot? It's free to try ans it might just save you enough money to go out and do something fun, or if you really must upgrade that graphics card again...