Russia adviser Fiona Hill’s alarming conclusion | Letter
Fiona Hill’s assessment of the Russian threat to Britain is a classic example of how a seemingly rational argument based on a false premise and scanty evidence can lead to a mad conclusion (Russia is at war with Britain and US is no longer a reliable ally, UK adviser says, 6 June).It is especially alarming that this conclusion was reached by one of the three principal authors of the recent strategic defence review.The false premise is that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is the first step to make Russia “a dominant military power in all of Europe”.Evidence that Britain is already under attack is provided by “the poisonings, assassinations, sabotage operations … cyber-attacks and influence operations..
.sensors … around critical pipelines, efforts to butcher undersea cables”.It follows that Britain’s economy and society must be geared up to resist the Russian menace.Deny the premise and the argument for a “whole society” mobilisation against Russia collapses.What it reveals is the strength of the warmongering mood of official Britain.
This is not to deny that we have to take precautions against the real danger of a significant US pullout, perhaps amounting to rendering article 5 of the Nato treaty meaningless, and that the Russians can be quite ruthless in exploiting an advantage if they think they have one,But this is a far cry from proposing, as the strategic defence review does, a national mobilisation in face of an immediate and pressing Russian threat,Robert Skidelsky Emeritus professor of political economy, Warwick University, Richard Balfe Former MEP, Anthony Brenton British ambassador to Russia, 2004-08, Thomas Fazi Author and journalist, Anatol Lieven Senior fellow, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statesmanship, Ian Proud Senior diplomat, British embassy, Moscow, 2014-18, Geoffrey Roberts Professor, University College Cork, Richard Sakwa Emeritus professor of Russian and east European studies, University of Kent, Brigitte Granville Professor of international economics and economic policy, Queen Mary University of London Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section,
Resident doctors have good reason to strike over pay | Letters
I write in response to the letter from senior clinicians urging resident doctors to vote against strike action (8 June). During my 22-year career we have seen fundamental changes in medical training, including the introduction of tuition fees for medical school, loss of free accommodation for first-year doctors, the lack of expansion in training numbers, and pay erosion over 15 years.This has left many resident doctors with crippling debt on graduation, spiralling costs of training, deteriorating pay, and the prospect of unemployment. I, and the authors of the letter, were fortunate enough not to face such hardships during training.Hence I urge colleagues not to influence the negotiations between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government regarding resident doctors’ pay
‘That child is not a product’: how IVF big business plays on hope of people desperate for a family
IVF is “big business” and experts are concerned about conflicts of interest between profit-making and helping families have children. Monash IVF’s second embryo bungle has sparked renewed scrutiny on the IVF industry as a whole amid calls for national regulation.On Friday, state and federal health ministers agreed to a three-month review of the need for a federal scheme.Monash IVF’s chief executive officer, Michael Knapp, stepped down this week after the second mistake the company revealed this year.In April, Monash IVF revealed a woman had given birth to a stranger’s child after being implanted with the wrong embryo in a Queensland clinic
Society may have overestimated risk of the ‘manosphere’, UK researchers say
Men who engage in the online “manosphere” and the content of Andrew Tate are often able to express a “strong commitment to equal treatment and fairness”, according to research commissioned by Ofcom.Prompted by growing concerns about internet misogyny, researchers for the UK communications regulator followed the journeys of dozens of men through online content ranging from the US podcaster Joe Rogan to forums for “incels” (involuntary celibates). They found that while a minority encountered “extremely misogynistic content”, many users of the manosphere were critically engaged, selective and capable of discarding messages that did not resonate with their values.They found it was far from a unified community: many participants felt the various subcultures under the manosphere umbrella were misunderstood, with extreme misogyny being grouped with benign self-improvement content. Several participants were drawn to it by its perceived humour, open debate and irreverence as well as connecting with views they found about traditional gender roles and family dynamics
Sickle cell patients to have quicker and more accessible treatment in England
People living with sickle cell disease in England are to benefit from quicker and more accessible treatment due to a £9m investment, the government has announced.Apheresis services, which are a type of treatment that removes harmful components from a patient’s blood, are to improve across England through the funding of more specialist treatment centres. The funding will ensure the wider availability of machines that remove a patient’s sickled red blood cells and replace them with healthy donor cells.More than 20 NHS trusts currently offer Spectra Optia technology, a treatment more effective than blood transfusions and having been shown to be highly effective in reducing complications such as iron overload.The investment could save the NHS up to £12
Assisted dying adverts to be banned if service legalised, Kim Leadbeater says
Adverts promoting assisted dying services will be banned if the procedure is made law under a new amendment, the MP sponsoring the bill has said.Labour’s Kim Leadbeater said adverts promoting assisted death as an option for terminally ill people would not be allowed.She will table an amendment prohibiting such advertising when the bill – which relates to England and Wales only – returns to the Commons on Friday, as well as an amendment that would require the Department of Health and Social Care to undertake an assessment of the state of palliative care.In a letter to MPs, Leadbeater said there was a “wide consensus” that advertising the procedure should not be permitted. Adverts in other countries including Belgium and the Netherlands have received widespread backlashes for appearing to promote assisted dying as a preferable option
Monash IVF chief executive resigns after company’s second embryo transplant bungle
The Monash IVF chief executive, Michael Knaap, has resigned after the reproductive healthcare company’s second embryo transplant bungle.In a statement to the ASX, Monash IVF said the board had accepted Knaap’s resignation as CEO and managing director.This week Monash IVF admitted to a second bungled embryo implant, this time in a Victorian clinic. In an earlier error in April, Monash IVF revealed a woman had given birth to the child of an unrelated woman after an incorrect embryo transplant in Queensland.Monash IVF said on Thursday it “acknowledges and respects [Knaap’s] decision”
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