Junior doctors' strike; for all the right reasons.

We're often told that in order to express a point or to make a stand, it has to be done so peacefully and respectively. That if we have any hope of having our 'voices' heard, it has to be done in accordance with the law.

And of course, this is absolutely correct.

However, regardless of the numerous junior doctors strikes, nothing seems to be changing. 

I have not read the 80 pages or so that outlines the new contracts for junior doctors. I cannot possibly empathise with those who have studied medicine and beyond for approximately 15 years, simply because I've only studied for 3. I, like the most of us can, however, read and listen to the so obviously desperate pleas from those who are affected by Jeremy Hunt's proposed terms of a 7 day NHS. 

First of all, was the NHS not a 7 day service anyway? 

I am yet to hear of somebody having a heart attack, a stroke, a broken arm, or whatever else you can come up with and turn up to A&E for someone to go, 'sorry, it's the weekend'. 

It feels to me that Jeremy Hunt is looking to save money where it cannot be saved. He's trying to force some of the hardest working individuals in this country to work more hours and for less. 

I appreciate that the junior doctors have said that they are not striking because of money, and I believe them, but my word! If I had studied for as long as they had and worked as hard as they had, I bloody well would! Nobody should go into a profession with the sole reason of doing that work being for the money, especially when duty of care is so strong within it. But this isn't to say they shouldn't be paid a respectful wage for it too. 

For those of you who are confused to why junior doctors are striking, here's a very brief outline of why (and remember, this is from an onlooker of it, not an expert):

There's this new contract, right? And it's stating that junior doctors will have to work ludicrous hours for less money. The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt (be careful not to misspell his second name, or do, it'd be more accurate) is claiming there has to be more work done so that people don't become more vulnerable at weekends when less doctors are working. This is because statistics show that you're more likely to die at the weekends due to lack of staff. So, Jeremy Hunt (don't be afraid to misspell his name, actually) is trying to stretch resources which are about as flexible as glass without allowing them to have any give. Instead of investing into the NHS, he's trying to bend it without realising that it won't bend, but snap. 

Got it?

So, that's the reason why junior doctors have been striking. They're terrified of the prospect of being forced to work so much that their concentration could alter their decision making.

You've worked tired, right? You know how hard it can be to focus? Well imagine being a doctor and having to make a decision that could help someone fighting death survive. The stakes are so high that it's unbelievable that we're even debating it at all! 

Jeremy Hunt, to me, is so blind of the profession he is secretary of. He has never been a doctor. He has never been forced to work hours that would make the day and night merge into one big ball of confusion. He has never had to work as hard, physically and mentally, as these poor men and women. 

He's had some of the worst public opinion I've ever seen in politics, and that's saying something!

His arrogant stubbornness makes my blood boil. 

He claims to have tried to negotiate but makes it sound as if the unions are like school children, throwing their toys out of the pram and getting on a right strop. 

How he can possibly think this is a good way forward is beyond me. 

Junior doctors, please strike when you feel the need to. 

The NHS will not fail to help you if you are ill during this strike. 

The NHS will not fail with the incredible people working there.

The NHS will fail with Jeremy Hunt holding the reigns. 

Jeremy Hunt is just an individual who is lucky enough that the QWERTY keyboard doesn't accidentally misspell his name; or have I mentioned that already?

The Midnight Library

4 hours.

It's been 4 hours since I planted my arse down on my seat with a coffee, a can of energy drink, and a bag of Maoams to keep me company.

However, my company has diminished into nothing and I sit here with a sugar-high close to supersonic, a laptop screen glaring at me like a disapproving mother, and a swarm of others around me either eating sweets, drinking drinks never meant to be good for mind or body, and different forms of procrastination happening as if it were a trendy pastime that definitely wasn't bad for late night studies.

I've seen one guy read the ingredients of his sweets like it was the bible and required the same amount of attention and time. I've seen guy walk around the library floor so much that he's completed a marathon, twice. And I've seen a girl watch about 10 videos of people getting their backs cracked on YouTube.

Me? Well I'm typing this, telling myself that it's still writing and that writing is good. Not the right kind, granted. But writing nonetheless, meaning it's OK to do and better than dropping my head onto the table, which someone sat next to me has done right now, quite hard too. It was more of a headbut to the table than a pitiful fall.

We're all 3rd years, all doing dissertations, and all sat here looking bleakly at our work knowing that it's single handedly the most time consuming thing we've done since waiting to be born.You can tell we're all third years by the lack of joy in our eyes, like energy saving lightbulbs that haven't quite warmed up and just give off a light about as powerful as a fart is to wind. Second years are at home, in bed, with the slight pressure of non-important coursework drifting into thought then pissing off. First years are out, getting drunk whilst thinking how unlucky it must be to be a third year, not realising that this torment will haunt them one day.

It's almost midnight and still the library is pretty full of burners of the midnight oil who lack a match to get the sodding fire going. There is a silence so empty that a blind person would have thought he'd died and gone to hell. The occasional keyboard being typed can be heard and the odd crack of bone on table as, like my friend here has just done for a second time, realised that his motivation has officially left his body and that a bruised forehead will offer more joy than trying to do work.

Books are open but only read by the yellowy, piss-coloured shade given off by the lights above. The only signs of life are from the occasional staff member who walks around telling students to be more silent than silence and to not type too hard on their touchscreen smartphones for risk of waking up the realisation that their job is to tell people to be quiet.

It feels to me like a room filled with intelligence but lacks any sort of application.

We are all educated and specialists in some form of thought or action.

We are all capable of finishing the work within a few hours.

We should all be in bed.

But we're not, we're here trying to get blood from a stone. A stone that goes by the name of disso.

Oh, table-butter's just delivered his latest abuse to the table. This time he landed on his nose and not his forehead.

Here comes the man to tell him to shut up.

What a time to be alive.

David Cameron's taxes; not worthy of #CameronResign.

If you haven't been on Twitter for a few days or not a user of the social media platform, let me fill you in about what #CameronResign was and is, even though it should be glaringly obvious.

After the Panama Papers leak there was evidence that David Cameron's father, Ian, had involvement in offshore accounts; meaning he was avoiding tax. Not evading tax, which is illegal, but avoiding which is legal. Please note the difference.

It was then discovered that he inherited from his father, who died in 2010, £300,000, £25,000 short of paying inheritance tax

In 2011, a year after his father's death, David Cameron's mother, Mary, 'gifted' David two separate instalments of £100,000.

This extra £200,000 was then deemed by the public as part of the possible inheritance from his father and only given to him after as a 'gift' so that he avoided, not evaded remember, paying an estimated £80,000 in inheritance tax.

Follow it all so far?

So, in essence, Cameron inherited a lot of money and by using a very simple method evaded paying a huge amount of tax for it.

Cameron has been massively against these 'loopholes' and has quite vocally stated that the UK should crackdown on those who are avoiding tax. It was because of his previous statements that some felt he should step down as PM.

Now, if you're not so aware of how hashtags work, for them to 'trend' there has to be a high amount of users using them and indeed there was a LOT of people tweeting #ResignCameron.

However, the vast majority of people using this hashtag were writing that Cameron should resign because he's avoided tax, or from the ignorant few, illegally not paid tax.

Cameron had/has done nothing illegal. He had simply invested well and made sure that he made the most money he could.

Should he have declared all the money as one and paid the subsequent tax with it?

Of course he should have but honestly, if you were in his position, would have you?

Let's say your mother or father pass away and you find a way to make sure you get all of the inheritance which is simple enough to do and not illegal, this being if the inheritance is over £325,000 and thus qualifying you to pay inheritance tax. Would you honestly say, "no, make sure we put it all together and pay £60,000 in tax, rather than having it for ourselves" ?

If you would then good, great, brilliant! You have a morally strong personality.

But Cameron, doing what I think the majority of us would do, should resign?

Oh, come on!

You have cooperations such as Apple, Starbucks, Google etc. avoiding billions of pounds of tax. However, you still use them at free will, paying into them and sipping your coffee without batting an eyelid. One man, however, avoids paying inheritance tax and he's the devil? To be honest, you most likely have friends or even family who don't pay income tax. Would you react in the same way?

Cameron came out and published his tax details and revealed that in 2014/15 alone he paid almost £76,000 in tax. He was the first MP to do so and, to people's disappointment, proved he'd done nothing illegal.

I worry that people hate Cameron simply because he's rich and had a wealthy upbringing. That's not a reason to dislike someone. Some people are born into better conditions than others. It's unlucky for us who have to worry about money and constantly think about when the next payday is coming but it's the way the world works unfortunately.

If you are someone who genuinely thinks Cameron should resign because he acted upon principles that he has criticised previously, then OK. I personally think it's a bit of a light reason to resign, but OK.

In my eyes too many were upset that he had that much money in the first place and were simply jealous of his position and wealth.

You can't have a go at someone for being rich.

You can't have a go at someone for trying to expand the amount of money they have.

David  Cameron can be a tosser at the best of times but this whole fiasco has not been one of them. He simply did what the majority of us would have done.

Abortion; let women have the control they deserve!

Abortion is one of the most controversial subject matters than can come up in any discussion, debate or chat in the pub, though the latter is very unlikely. It's one of those topics where people can come across as overly harsh or too relaxed.

Recently Donald Trump has come out stating that he is 'pro-life', meaning that if he were to become President of the United States, he would push to make abortion illegal. He went further onto say that if a woman were to get an abortion in a country whereby it was illegal, it would justifiable to punish them further. He has since redrawn his comments after a huge backlash from the public.

For Mr. Trump to take back his comments it means that he was under huge, and I mean gargantuan, pressure. He's not one to go back on his opinions or comments. It does seem, however, that his latest controversy has gone over the line, a line he has redrawn so many times he could be called an artist.

So, let's think about this for a second.

Abortion.

I think first and foremost what needs to be made absolutely clear is that a guy, regardless of how educated, established, morally respected or powerful he is, can not, and I emphasise the not, decide on whether a woman should or should not have an abortion.

It would be like telling an artist to not paint, a writer to not write, a musician to not play an instrument. The biological hardwiring of a female is to have a child, this also means that it's their choice not to.

Men don't know what happens to a woman's mind when she gets pregnant. We even don't know what's happening with periods. In fact, tell a guy you're on your period and he will probably go 'urgh', not out of disrespect but out of ignorance.

The idea that Mr. Trump thinks that he out of all people can determine the right of a female's choice to have an abortion is, to put it lightly, grossly inconsiderate and vile.

I'm not saying you can't have an opinion on the matter. By all means do and express that opinion as much as you like. Just consider that just because you think you are right, that does not mean someone with opposite views is wrong.

Personally, I think it is wrong to make abortion illegal. Simply because the woman supplying the foetus with life, if you consider it 'life', has every right to do what they want with their body if it's only affecting their body.

Whether you think it's morally right or wrong, religiously correct or not, is, in my eyes, not important.

No abortion, regardless of the individual, is a decision that is taken lightly and certainly not gone through with ease.

It's not as simple as going to the doctor and saying, "take this out, please".

There are a some things in life which I think are in need of control with legislation. There are also situations where the individual, whether male or female, has to make the decision for themselves.

We are evermore becoming a society where we tell people to do one thing or another. It's worrying but something we are becoming accustomed to.

People need to allow others to make their own decisions, regardless of what you want them to do based on your moral viewpoint or opinion.

If a woman wishes to keep a foetus inside her then that's great, regardless of age and situation.

If they don't then that's fine. Whether I think it to be right or wrong in that situation shouldn't be forced upon someone else's decision.

Your body is the only thing that will only ever be yours and be under your control, excluding diseases that is. Keep it that way otherwise we'll literally be under the control of an authority that will neither understand or ever see you.