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Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

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Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#111

Post by Tichy »

rogerbinns wrote: post #65
ews wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came here expecting a troll :) in Europe you don't have to rely on Government for health care: you have an array of options in the private sector, which are usually much better (in my experience) than the US private hospitals since they have to compete with a free and good-enough option. Most of the population prefer to use the free, government subsidized health system though.

The health system is not free nor is it government subsidised. It is paid for from taxes, which people pay according to their income. There is no additional charge to then use the system other than paying taxes. (IMHO this is a good thing and it is fair.) In the US it is a complete mess. Half of all healthcare spending is done by the government anyway (Medicare, Medicaid, government employees, army/veterans etc) and…

It's not the same in all European countries. I think in the UK it is like you describe. I was quite shocked, however, when I heard about the typical wait times for things like broken teeth or bones (weeks - that was 18 years ago, though, don't know the current state). In Germany there are specific health insurances you have to pick. However it has become mandatory to have health insurance a couple of years ago, and the public insurers may not reject you.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#114

Post by icebraining »

mindcrime wrote: post #103
cglace wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is medical care a fundamental right?

It can't be, because if it's a fundamental right (read: entitlement) then someone else is obligated to provide that care. So, in a hypothetical world where no one chooses to go into the medical profession, we'd have to put guns to people's heads and force them to become doctors, because, after all, medical care is a "fundamental right." There's an obvious paradox in that. Medical care is a "right" in the sense that i…

That argument is perfect in a theoretical world where no one choose to go into the medical profession. Back in real life, that doesn't happen. At most, you have to hire foreign doctors. So yes, it's a right, which like any other right, it's subject to the constraints of reality.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#115

Post by squidbot »

firichapo wrote: post #4

I just wanted to add that at no point does the article mentions that he collapsed. Looks like he suffered an increase in blood pressure and decided to call it of. A doctor was contacted and he was able to walk away by his own means.

Google's translation made the article a bit more amusing: "The president of the Free Software Foundation has begun to feel ill, apparently due to a power surge"

He needs better line filtering I'd guess!

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#116

Post by bostonpete »

zackzackzack wrote: post #82
benihana wrote: post #76

This presents an interesting situation. Is Stallman okay with being hooked up to medical computers even though they may not be running free software? What about the privacy issues involved in being checked into a hospital?

If it were anyone but Stallman, I would have thought you were being an ass about the situation. But realistically, I could see that being a concern for him and his ethics. I hope he doesn't die on principle quite yet though. There aren't too many FOSS clinics AFAIK.

I don't see how it would realistically be a concern for him. That's like saying he wouldn't be willing to get on a plane or drive a car b/c they use closed source software...

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#117

Post by mseebach »

ews wrote: post #20
planetguy wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, if only he were in the United States where you don't have to rely on the Government for medical care...

I came here expecting a troll :) in Europe you don't have to rely on Government for health care: you have an array of options in the private sector, which are usually much better (in my experience) than the US private hospitals since they have to compete with a free and good-enough option. Most of the population prefer to use the free, government subsidized health system though.

Europe doesn't have one health care system. There is a large variety in approaches. Most debates regarding reforms seem to quickly deteriorate into FUD about "americanization" rather than meaningful comparisons with other European countries.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#118

Post by vacri »

raganwald wrote: post #67
skrebbel wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There, you're doing it. It is all right for someone to be skeptical about any commonly held view, except when it's about sex with minors. In any discussion about any kind of sex with anyone under 18 whatsoever, if you're not 100% fully completely convincedly against it, then you're a bad person!!1 Why can't we just discuss this? Like we can discuss anything else? Especially in the US, where the norm appears to be tha…

Well actually, I haven’t expressed an opinion about whether his words are acceptable or whether he’s a bad person, whatever that means. I have heard more than a few people taking me to task for wishing him good health on account of his words, and one of the reasons I posted this was to hear from people like you.

You have, actually. Your statement can't even be charitably called 'loaded' - you explicitly state "he has advocated for truly awful practices?". Just throwing in the word 'allegations' doesn't mean that you're presenting a neutral point of view, as all shock jockeys are fully aware.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#119

Post by laconian »

benihana wrote: post #76

This presents an interesting situation. Is Stallman okay with being hooked up to medical computers even though they may not be running free software? What about the privacy issues involved in being checked into a hospital?

Perhaps he would be, so long as the EKG readout was transcribed into ASCII text and emailed to the nurse, who reads it using Mutt.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#120

Post by el_presidente »

mindcrime wrote: post #103
cglace wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is medical care a fundamental right?

It can't be, because if it's a fundamental right (read: entitlement) then someone else is obligated to provide that care. So, in a hypothetical world where no one chooses to go into the medical profession, we'd have to put guns to people's heads and force them to become doctors, because, after all, medical care is a "fundamental right." There's an obvious paradox in that. Medical care is a "right" in the sense that i…

> It's a service that can be provided and bought on the free market like all other services.

Maybe in a hypothetical world where you can find this hypothetical free market. In the real world, health care can be treated as a fundamental right because there are enough doctors available.

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