French Post

Whilst in France over the weekend I read an article by one Alexandre Adler in Le Figaro. He made the same comments about the Olympics opening ceremony as I had made but in rather more detail and unlike me had come to the conclusion that it showed a country in decline. However when I think about it his view may be correct in the context of the NHS - the jury is still out whether the brave attempt by the Government to bring it screaming into the light of day will succeed or not. Adler lastly declared it was ridiculous for this country to want to reduce its involvement with the EU as we were needed to help out, presumably with the eurozone countries, and it was wrong of us to hold back. Either we're a 'decadent' country as Adler describes us and thus not worth knowing or we are a country that still has some positives and thus worth doing business with. He can't have it both ways and we cannot be criticised for staying out of the flawed euro project. Yes, we are in a hole and yes, our banks have become involved in illegal activities for which the perpetrators need to be prosecuted and if found guilty sent to prison. But no, our banks are not the only ones and it is frankly disgusting of the Americans to use what's happened to protect themselves from competition. The Americans like the French have always sought to protect their industries with harmful effects on world trade so we should not, I suppose, be surprised that they are playing the same old game. They are also trying to impose their foreign policy on us through the way they control our banks operating in the US. This can be a double edged sword since their foreign policy cannot be said to have been always successful nor to have avoided "known unknowns" and "unknown unknowns" or unforeseen consequences whether foreseeable or not. In typical fashion the head of the New York State Department of Financial Services has made the most astonishing claims so it is will be a feast well worth watching when he is made to eat humble pie - always a difficult thing for a bragging American to do. I still don't get the point of including the NHS in the opening show and my view that it was inappropriate to include it has been strengthened by a case of nursing negligence in the Royal London hospital a day or so ago. A premature baby being cared for in the institution was mistakenly given milk expressed by another mother rather than the milk expressed by its own mother. The premature baby is now on antibiotics as the mother who expressed it is infected with thrush and candida. The mother of the premature baby has been asked if she will sue although she is under some pressure from the hospital not to do so. Despite the negligent nurse's apologies I think the mother should sue since it is quite unclear whether and what treatment the premature baby will require if she contracts either or both diseases. She may well have the whole of her life blighted by this negligence.