President Obama

Had to join and reply to this one- As an Aussie; yes we do have pretty much the highest rate of malignant melanomas in the world- we pride ourselves on being an outdoor, sporting nation whose population lives mainly within 100 miles of our coastline.; thus surfing and beach stuff is a major part of who we are. Plus as a mainly Northern European populated country originally- we are usually a pretty pale skinned lot. Add to that singlet shorts and thongs(Flip flops lol) we tend to expose a lot of skin.

And we think we are bulletproof, lol.

Our .Gov does have a strong Occupational Health and Safety framework through our WorkCover system, which establishes minimum standards of workplace safety across many industries. Some is Federal, some is State based. It is not part of our health system.
Sun safety is just that. A set of minimum standards and protective equipment. Skin cancer is a nasty way to die. I have lost family to it. I have no problems with .Gov regulation in this regard.
In our private lives we don't have to wear sunscreen if we don't want to. .Gov can't tell us, they can only recommend. And pay for education campaigns in the media to warn us of the dangers.

Would probably be cheaper if they just ordered us- but we don't work like that here, lol. In some ways we are more socialist then the US, in others we support our individual freedoms more.

We are happy with our medical care system for the most part; although aspects are being privatised- which is forcing up costs; as profits have to be made for investors; costs have to rise.
We actually look to the US health model as an example of how NOT to provide health care, either public or private........make of that what you will. Not trying to insult you all; but that's how we generally see it here.

As for Obama; I prefer having him as your Prez than Bush- he shows a little more humility with world leaders than Bush did. When our Prime Ministers visit other nations; they act respectfully- my opinion of Obama went up a notch when he bowed. It is not about submission, but respect. Even if you do not see eye to eye with the leader you are visiting.

My 2 cents.

 

Actually, I believe yes. It is a fine line, no doubt about it. Individual freedom as opposed to group safety.
How far do you impose the will of the group over the individual, vs how much freedom do you give the individual measured against what the effect will be on the group?
In order to drop the risk of drink driving, do you increase the penalty, which would have little effect on a serious alkie, or increase the cost of the product, which means he can afford less and be less likely to offend, but hurts law abiding drinkers? Or give him free reign? Tough questions.

I just stated the Australian experience of skin cancer and regulation for work as I see it.

On Obama, Bowing isn't common in all cultures; I know our Prime Ministers have often done so when visiting foreign leaders. Wouldn't be surprised if you surfed a lot of old video tape that Obama wouldn't be the first US Prez to do so either.

Thanks for the welcome; hope I can add an Aussie angle on some of the subjects here. Even if our water is supposed to flow down the drain in the wrong direction.