Straight to the point

The General Medical Council (GMC) is supposed to protect patients in Britain and elsewhere from bad doctors. The GMC lays down the rules and charges doctors hefty fees for their licences to practice.

A few decades ago the GMC was …

Like most people wanted by the Americans, Julian Assange never stood much of a chance against his extradition to the US.

Here’s what I wrote in my book Living in a Fascist Country in 2006.

‘To be born English or …

This is a long standing series of small items which have caught my eye or mind and which seem relevant, startling, amusing or all three. Occasionally, items which appear here may return as a longer piece. Mostly they will not.…

Whatever else it can manage without, your body needs a good, steady and consistent supply of blood in order to survive and function properly.

It is the blood circulating round your body that provides your muscles with necessary supplies of …

It is impossible to measure pain objectively. There are so many different factors involved that it is impossible for you to compare the pain you get in your back with the pain your neighbour gets in her womb. It’s quite …

The Bank of England and HM Treasury in the UK are now preparing a UK digital currency to replace cash – and to enable them to know what you are buying, and where and when you are buying it.

The …

I don’t think anyone really knows exactly why laughter and humour have such a positive pain-relieving effect. And there isn’t yet any solid research evidence to prove that by laughing you can reduce the amount of pain in your life. …