Girl Shot By Taliban Signs £2 Million Book Deal

[ChillDoubt]

Would it be spiteful of me to say that it would be nice to see some of that ploughed back into the NHS that saved her life and safeguarded her future?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21968034

[Noth43]

^ Got a point there.

[ChillDoubt]

in that case they may as well not bother paying the girl's medical bills, just add it to the account
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Er, because in real terms they're not anyway!?

Or maybe we could do the same as the US, withhold aid and demand they do far more to tackle the Taliban in the first instance?

[Zeuhl]

Pakistan is yet another post-colonial construct (like Iraq) and includes a mess of conflicting tribal areas

chill

if you have a solution that is feasible for less than £160 million a year i'm sure the Foreign Office would be delighted to hear from you

In the meantime, this young 'celebrity' is well out it

[tonyav]

I agree Chilldoult, but I can't see that happening anytime soon, don't think the government would want to upset the Pakistani's that live here !.

[LazyGun]

Well it sure sounds like you have a problem, from your OP.

If you have a problem with foreign aid from the UK to Pakistan, thats an issue worthy of discussion. Dragging this girls treatment into that argument is an irrelevance.

[Mick-Talbot]

You've moved a million miles away from you OP, Chill.

[Zeuhl]

/Er, because in real terms they're not anyway!?/

LOL

I'd love to see you go out to dinner with your kids Chill

'Hey Dad, I'll pick up the bill'

(Chill: 'thanks that's very nice of you') - No Chance!

'I should bl00dy well think so - you're not really paying for it, not when you take in to account all I've spent on you over the years'

:-)

[Noth43]

Is it true we give the Taliban..err I mean Pakistan..money just to make the war with Pakistan..err I mean the Taliban..more interesting?

[ChillDoubt]

if you have a solution that is feasible for less than £160 million a year i'm sure the Foreign Office would be delighted to hear from you
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Certainly! Cut it by half and plough it back into the NHS or the new Border Control Agency, when it comes into effect.
The Pakistani government is infamous for having Taliban sympathisers. Given that they're often reluctant to tackle the issue over there, save the money and strengthen security, health care and infrastructure here.

[Zeuhl]

/if you have a solution/

How is your suggestion a solution to the 'Pakistan Problem'?

Which was the subject of my post

Or don't you do global strategy?

[LazyGun]

So there you go - You have a solution to the foreign aid issue, the Government and a grateful nation will thank you, and you will no longer resent this girl getting her £2 million book deal then?

Excellent.... problem solved.

[ChillDoubt]

Not really Mick, it's still about the NHS and the cutbacks it faces year on year in real terms and how many are being duped into believing the Pakistan government are 'paying' for her care and education.

[LazyGun]

Its just an ingenious method of transferring funds from the foreign aid budget into the NHS.... just had to take a girl getting shot in the head...

[Zeuhl]

Here's your Logic question Chill

You give someone £100

Then you provide them a small service

option a) they pay you £1 for the service
option b) they don't pay you for the service

which option a) or b) leaves you better off?

[ChillDoubt]

Or don't you do global strategy?
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I reasoned that this was a discussion about the funds and payments that pass between the UK and Pakistani governments with a slight digression with my links into why the US government have re-appraised their strategy.

Or are we doing an all-encompassing discussion about aid worldwide?

[LazyGun]

Well actually your thread was about you querying whether it was spiteful or not of you to suggest that Malala pony up some of the dosh from her book deal to the NHS, to show how grateful she was for our magnanimous gesture.

Then it seemed to segue into a dissertation on UK foreign aid policy to Pakistan....

[Zeuhl]

/the funds and payments that pass between the UK and Pakistani governments/

are you saying you think those payments aren't part of 'global strategy'?

that was why I asked for a solution of interest to the Foreign Office not the Dept of Health

[ChillDoubt]

No Zeuhl.

You give someone £100. You expect them to use it wisely to tackle serious problems. Instead, they pocket a large portion of it for themselves and don't attempt to deal with the problem you asked them to, they exacerbate it.
Then they have a problem and some negative press.
They pass the problem on to you but 'pay' you a pound to take care of it.

[Zeuhl]

So what's the answer?

a) or b)?

Come on it's not that difficult

[ChillDoubt]

Fair enough LG, maybe I should have started with the bigger picture, then focused on this small portion of it.

But that doesn't make the headlines.