Government Accused of blocking Freedom of Information Requests
- An investigation by openDemocracy alledged an Orwellian unit in Cabinet Office that profiled journalists and blocked release of Freedom of Information requests if deemed politically damaging to government.
- A joint letter from various newspapers call on MPs to urgently raise the issue.
- The government denied setting up a Clearing House unit to profile journalists and undermine Freedom of Information Requests.
- However they said a Clearing House of sorts has operated in various fashion in 15 years since FOI Act and that although they are handled in applicant-blind fashion, journalists names are used to coordinate response across multiple departments.
- The Government said the above is important for complex FOI requests which balances need for information and legal duty to protect sensitive information and national security.
My view
It is highly likely that, although the government denies it, FOI requests are handled in such a way where it is going to, from time to time at least, block requests that are politically damaging to the sitting government, I feel like that is unfortunately inevitable, it’s just a case of how often it happens, action should be taken in any case as transparency is important to keep people trusting in the government and its institutions.
I do agree though that information requests that damage national security or other sensitive topics where such information released could be dangerous or harmful to the greater public or beyond should be blocked, but there is a very thin line there that makes it very tricky. Obviously information requests purely only damaging/harmful to the government should not be blocked from release for example, as that is simply politically motivated and corrupt.
For any information that does get blocked from release, there needs to be a very, very good reason for such. And it goes without saying that all journalists should be treated in equal fashion, blocking any information requests on the basis of a journalist’s views or the way they write for example, or based on what media company they work for, and so on, is always wrong, no matter your political view.
WHO Teams Three Theories of COVID-19 Origins
- The WHO Team investigating COVID-19 origins in China will now leave with three thoeries, down from four.
- The team has ruled out the theory of the disease having escaped from a Chinese laboratory, saying it’s extremely unlikely, and further research into by the WHO will not be pursued.
- The three remaining thoeries are it jumped directly from animals to humans, that it spread via an intermediate host, or that it was imported in from elswhere.
My view
I don’t have too much to say on this, although I am not super surprised that the laboratory theory has been dismissed. There was a degree of investigation into it, which is more than I originally thought we’d get, as I thought it may be completely blocked by China. Although some will still think that China has influenced the WHO in some way to come to this conclusion and to no longer look any further into it. The US has already said it will make its own conclusion after studying the WHO report themselves.
So that leaves us with the three mentioned thoeries, which in reality doesn’t bring us too much closer to the origins, just a little closer. The theory of it having been imported in could potentially be controversial, and I’d hazard it is a thoery China would most favour to be the truth. The virus jumping from animals to humans or via intermediary host seems fairly reasonable and is perfectly possible, as we have seen previously there have been found types of coronavirus in bats near to Wuhan, of which were close to COVID-19.
I suspect that even once the WHO report is fully completed and come to a conclusion, there will likely be a degree of political wrangling over it and probably many who will not trust or believe the outcome, due to possible Chinese interference.
Diabetes Drug to Possibly be used as Ground-Breaking Obesity Treatment
- A drug that supresses appetite has been found to cut down body weight by up to 20% by research studies.
- UCL randomised control trial involved 1,961 adults either overweight or obese and took place across 16 countries in Asia, Europe and North and South America.
- The average weight loss was 15.3kg or 2.4 stone and a reduction in BMI of 5.54.
- 75% of participants lost at least 10% of body weight while one-third lost more than 20%.
- The group also saw reductions in risk factors of heart disease and diabetes and reported improvements in overral quality of life.
- The drug is question is called semaglutide and is cureently used as a diabetes type 2 medication.
- The drug has since been submitted to several regulatory agencies for approval in treatment of obesity.
My view
I think this is actually really magnificent, the problem with people becoming overweight or being overweight or obese is a continuing and growing problem in our current times and the coronavirus has shown us more than ever how this can be a dangerous thing. But it isn’t just coronavirus, there are many other fatal conditions that can be caused by being overweight, finding ways to help people lose weight, such as this, is a step in the right direction to combating all of those diseases as well.
I see little problem to have this as a treatment for people who are strugling with weight problems, just as long as such treatment also comes with professional health support from dietitians and physiotherapists who will show the people on these treatments healthier ways to live and the exercise they should do as the treatment works, so that they do not become dependent on it for life. This medication, giving visible weight loss, should give such people the confidence they need to pursue these new lifestyle changes along with the right support to get there.
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