There has been some strong media and patient outrage in the UK over a decision to not make available Bayer’s Nexavar, a drug for terminally-ill liver cancer patients, through the National Health Service.  UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence – referred to as the NHS’ drug rationing body by the UK media – says the drug’s price does not justify the benefits that it provides.  Nexavar costs 36,000 pounds a year (Rs 27 lakh). It extends survival by an average of about 3 months, and is the first to do so for liver cancer.

NHS could end up paying as much 9 million pounds on treating 600-700 patients a year who qualify.  Bayer has offered to give every fourth packet of the drug free but that would reduce the cost to 7.7mn pounds which is still pricey the NHS feels.

Bayer plans to appeal the decision.

The decision has health activists and patients up in arms. (See here and here). NICE has been roundly-roasted for putting a value on human life, so to speak. Note that neither of the articles that’s linked to above has a single talking head asking Bayer to bring down the price of the product.

Now consider what happens in India.  First of all, none  except those whom the government employs expect it to pay for drugs – whether for common cold or cancer.  80 per cent of our healthcare spend is out-of-pocket, among the highest rates in the world.

However, companies receive plenty of flak from the media for price increases (not that it stops many of them).

Indeed,  over the decades the government has conveniently shifted the onus of providing affordable drugs onto the drug industry.  How has it done this?  One, in the early seventies it liberalised the patents regime so that generics of globally under-patent drugs could be freely launched in India.  Two, it did little to raise the bar on quality. Indeed, once a drug was on the market for five years a new manufacturer did not even have to approach the central regulator for a quality approval – it simply got a manufacturing licence from the state.

As a result,  India has multitudinous copycats of a good number of drugs giving it the distinction of having among the lowest drug prices in the world. But quality is still a problem especially outside the metros. In fact, it is this inability of the government to guarantee quality that has allowed companies to charge an artificial premium for ‘brands’ – even though in a patents-free market there were hundreds of copycats of each drug. Brands are after all associated with quality.

So a strange duality exists in the country. Yes, it has some of the lowest drug prices in the world but to be sure of what they are getting, especially in life-and-death situations, consumers – rich or poor – still pay a fat premium.  Besides, when the markets are not large enough – such as for rare diseases – generics will not be found.

In recent months, a small attempt is being made in government to make amends.  The ministry of chemicals and fertilizers’ Jan Aushadhi pharmacy outlets provide unbranded medicines at far lower prices by using bulk sourcing.  Last heard, this was making slow progress for want of real estate and suppliers. The government also wants to pay for cancer drugs (currently a few hospitals like Tata Memorial funded by the Department of Atomic Energy subsidise medicines) but hasn’t yet begun.

As an aside, Nexavar – which is patented in this counry to Bayer under India’s tightened patent rules of 2005 -  is currently the subject of a lawsuit here.  Bayer has sued the Indian drugs regulator to prevent it from approving a Cipla generic which will probably be cheaper. And surprisingly, senior government counsel seems to be missing in action from the court proceedings.

True, it’s not all hunky-dory in the west as the Nexavar debate shows. Governments and insurers flush with funds to pay for healthcare have pushed prices to record highs to the point where countries are now feeling the pinch.  But India can learn from those mistakes and start forgeing its own system tailored to meet its needs.

And not sometime in the future. Today, right now, this minute.

I love the media. No, actually, that’s not true. I love analyzing the media. I used to work with middle school children in small support-group-type settings and one of the topics we focused on was how the media made you feel…or…media literacy. Presenting beauty ads, alcohol ads and cigarette ads, we would pose questions like, “What message is this ad sending?” “What is it assuming about gender roles?” “Why are these images attached to these words?” “What are these images saying?” “Why would they want you to believe what they are saying?” It was always fascinating to watch kids as their minds opened to the idea that most media is scripted in every way.

On that note, I found this ad in this month’s Oprah magazine, which for the record was not my magazine, it was my mother’s, which for the record, am fairly sure got it by a gift subscription. I’m not really a big fan of Ms. O, nor of her magazine (but that’s another blog).
I ripped it out (and ripped the tag line, too) and lay it on the counter to observe it more closely. Something. Something was bothering me about it. I just couldn’t put my finger completely on it.

So. There it sat most of the day.

So, reassures Bayer, we can help you with all of this. “You need a birth control that helps you simplify your life.” “Oops. We meant your life will be simpler once you’re on birth control.” That would make things much simpler, wouldn’t it? No more offspring? Now that you’re on birth control, you won’t have any more of these messy life encounters with the progeny that were to come along! And that is really the subtle rub, isn’t it? The children. Those are what made your life so problematic to begin with, isn’t it? Beginning with this exact pictured situation! And we all know that fewer children means less hassle! And less hassle is good? RIGHT???

The subtle message of the ad is that the child in the picture is the culmination and quite representative of the unhappiness and frustration that a complex life brings.

When we (our society) devalue our children in small, subtle ways, resentfulness quietly simmers within us. To imply that our own personal lifestyle struggles are the child’s fault is damaging to our overall worldview of parenting. It will seep out in our attitudes, actions and reactions to our children and always overshadow the good times. And though the children are not privy to our inner thoughts, they will always sense that they were a giant inconvenience.

Furthermore, the ad creates a problem that perhaps the woman didn’t have to begin with. The implication is that simplicity is easily attainable- other women’s lives are simple and yours is not. They solve this constructed “problem” with a chemical solution. As usual. A chemical that they have, you need, and costs money.

It’s one thing to sell a birth control with the typical feminist mantra of choice, convienance or even reproductive regulation. But to sell birth control and concurrently mark down the value of the children you already have is pretty low. Even for Big Pharma.

Let’s get one thing straight, Bayer: My children? Not a lifelong inconvience that I regret. They are not valued on how well they eat their baby food, how little they inconvience my schedule or how quickly I can usher them to the next stage of their life. No, these precious souls require patience, love, gentleness, firmness, discipline, and certainly time. None of these concepts occur simply or easily. Please stop offering chemical solutions for spiritual problems. All that does is complicate an already complicated situation.

Español chileno ~ Los jalapeños

1.            yeísmo /ʝ/

Cayó [ka.’ʝo]              calló [ka.’ʝo]

Aunque hay personas en Chile que son yeístas,  algunos de los ancianos y los que viven en las partes rurales del país no son yeístas.

ejemplos:   (Bayer 0:18)  bayer [‘ba.ʝeɾ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxB8BoXiy0w&feature=related

2.            La aspiración de la “s”

La “s” al final de una silaba o una palabra es aspirada o eliminada completamente.

También la elisión o aspiración de /s/ depende en los números de factores sociales, regionales o fonológicos.

Pero en muchos casos la “s” es aspirada especialmente antes de un consonante

“esta” [‘eʰ.ta]

La elisión de la “s” es más común al fin de una palabra pero no se encuentra mucho en la gente de clase alta.

ejemplos: (Coca-Cola 0:16)            todas las marcas [‘to.ðaʰ.la.’maɾ.kaʰ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22lmayF3qGY&feature=related

3.            Seseo

No tiene distinción entre los sonidos de “s” (/s/) y “z” (/θ/), pronunciándose como /s/ en todos los casos.

ejemplos:  casar [‘ka.saɾ]            cazar [‘ka.saɾ]

4.            La Velarización de la /n/

ejemplos: (Coca-Cola 0:06)             pongo [‘poŋ.go]                        selección [se.lek.’sjoŋ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22lmayF3qGY&feature=related

5.            La desafricación de la č

The voiceless postalveolar affricate /t͡ʃ/ is pronounced as a fricative [ʃ] by many lower-class speakers.

ejemplo: (Pres. Obama 0:26)                        Chao [‘ʃaw]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzMMfISLmcU

6.            /b d g/ más aproximantes

Entre vocales y al final de palabra, /d/ se elida frecuentemente.

contado [kon.’ta:o]            ciudad [sju.’ða]

ejemplos: (Coca-Cola 0:05)            partido [paɾ.’ti:o]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22lmayF3qGY&feature=related

7.            La fricatización velar o retracción de la [ř]

ejemplo: (Coca-Cola 0:20)            roja [řo.xa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22lmayF3qGY&feature=related

8.            Otras cosas interesantes

el uso predominante del diminutivo “-ito/a”

el voseo

How big is Big Pharma? In case you have ever wondered just how much revenue is generated in Big Pharma and from which countries it derives from, here is a great visual of revenue generated and expenditures in the pharmaceutical industry and from which global region in 2008. Pfizer, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Roche Group and Sanofi Aventis make up the big dogs in this industry. Considering most industries are in a financial meltdown, the pharmaceutical industry continues to grow and prosper, which is only good news for job market.

Growth is Strong in the Pharmaceutical Industry

* Information from Pharma News.

Food baskets for year 2050; (Nov. 14, 2009)

I decided to combine and edit four posts into a comprehensive essay that might forecast the world’s agricultural state in the year 2050 as it will be inhabited by 10 billion people. The posts are: The long-term “Revenge of Geography”; “Food BANG, not the Big One”; “The world’s food basket: Africa is heaven for agro-business investments”; and “Africa is targeted to be exclusively the world’s food basket”

We are barely feeding the current world population and millions are dying of famine related malnutrition. In 1960, many developed nations had surpluses of food stuff; this is no longer the case.  Funny Mark Twain said “Buy lands; we are no more manufacturing those kinds of things”. The UN branch for Food and Agriculture Organization predicted that agricultural products will witness increases in prices over 50% by the year 2017 and predicted that famine will be the lot of 70 impoverished States harming 1.2 billion human.

Global problems for water shortages

We are witnessing the era of “Anthropocene” which means man is doing more damages to the environment than nature can stabilize; the main reality to account for is acute shortages in sources of water. “It is man who has the power to create; it is nature that commands to a large extent” said Harold Mackinder in 1904.

The main problems cannot be summarized in population explosion.  Modern problems are exacerbating the conditions. First, just in China and India the number of middle class “well off people” are four times the combined numbers in the USA, Europe, and Japan. These newly created classes in the last two decades demand equal standards of living that the developed nations have been enjoying for a century. Consequently, water has to be diverted from agriculture to urban centers that are fast increasing in numbers and in size.  Huge investments are being spent to building dams, diverting rivers, and constructing thousands of miles of water canals.

Second, most rivers are heavily polluted from mass industrializations, a process that has been going on for many decades. Fertile lands are deteriorating as they are irrigated with toxic and highly saline water.  Third, climatic changes are affecting rain delivery in sufficient amount. Deserts are expanding and sub-terrene water sources are dwindling in numbers and quantities.

Fourth, the USA and Europe are planting agro-energy products that are transformed into non-fossils sources for energy. The EU is shooting for a 10% sufficiency by the year 2010 from these agro sources.  Thus, vast fields of wheat and corn are being converted to agro products rich in sugar contents. This policy might resolve EU internal problems in the short run in several ways: first, instead of subsidizing agriculture for competitive exportation the EU could invest in land development in the large States of Poland and Ukraine; this alternative might enhance the internal food trade with adequate return for the poorer EU member Sates; second, the constant stream of law suits against infringements on Global Free Trade will be reduced; and third, experiments on alternative energy substitutes will be encouraged.

Fifth, the USA and the EU are leasing fertile lands overseas not to produce edible condiments for the famished population but products for their energy substitutes.

Political end games

The main power in the coming decades will reside in the States who control the sources of the major rivers.  China has conquered Tibet because three main rivers take their sources from the Himalaya mountain chains; mainly the Mekong (that flow into the South East), the Indus (that flow in Pakistan), and the Brahmapoutre that flow in India and join the Ganges River.

Thus, if China decided to use water as weapon it can disturb all the States from Pakistan, India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam. China has already built 86,000 dams along the Blue and Yellow Rivers that take sources on the western plateaus; China has not consulted with the South East countries and has already built four mega dams on the Mekong, including two huge lakes that will take about 10 years to fill in order to generate hydraulic power.

Turkey controls two huge rivers: the Euphrates and the Tiger that flow in Syria and Iraq.  Turkey has been building dams on these rivers without consulting with the southern neighboring States.  Ethiopia is in control of the Nile if it wishes to.  The US has been building dams along rivers that flow into Mexico.

China, Turkey, Russia, USA, and Brazil control sources of major rivers.  Latin America has enough water, except Argentina. The main struggle in the medium-term is who will control the Nile, the Niger, and the Congo Rivers in Africa.

There are four basic alternatives for securing water that can be used concomitantly. First, desalination of Oceans and the towing of icebergs will do for a while but cannot resolve a long-term problem in water shortages.  Second, genetically modified seeds that can withstand many kinds of “natural enemies” may diminish the need for pesticides and herbicides and increase production. Third, leasing or acquiring vast “fertile” lands by foreign agro-businesses in the under-developed States that have shortages in trained manpower for land development, or lacking the technological investment capabilities, or suffering from outdated modern institutions. Four, enacting policies for large displacement of people from mega-polis to near water sources; that alternative will save on huge investment of supplying water to big urban cities and in order to recover sub-terrain naps and natural ecosystems.  This essay will focus on the second and third alternatives.

Genetically modified seeds

Antitrust laws are so far not being applied to the six industries for organically modified seeds that share scientific discoveries and have sole monopoly of 90% of organic seeds.  Monsano, Dow Agrosciences, BASF, Syngena, Bayer, and Dupont have deposited more than 500 patents on genes “adapting to climatic changes”: they are figuring out how to profit from degradation of the environment.  In 2008, Monsato has increased by 35% the prices on organically modified seeds that it has exclusive rights to produce and distribute.  Monsano and Dow Agrosciences are associated to produce in genetically modified wheat seeds that can withstand 8 kinds of “natural enemies” of mainly herbicides and insecticides in year 2010.  Thus, 87% of modified seeds used around the world bear the label Monsano.

The multinational oil companies of BP, Shell, Chevron, and Cargill are linking up with companies of nano-sciences of agro-technologies to transform biological matters such as (agricultural harvest, forests, algae…) into industrial sugar. Sugar is then converting into chemical products and nano-products with high added values. Chemistry linked to oil products could now be adapted to vegetable carbon.  Entire countries such as Madagascar and Angola are now being leased to cultivate modified breeds of harvests.

The scientific counselor to Barak Obama, John Holdren, is encouraging the application of geo-engineering to fighting atmospheric changes.  Among such engineering techniques is sprinkling the atmosphere with nano-particles of sulfates to veil the sunrays.  Monster farms of phytoplankton are created to absorb or capture CO2.

The UN views these geo-engineering projects as purely speculative in nature with unknown risks for collateral damages. A joint Indo-German oceanographic Institute discarded the decision of the Conference of the UN and carried on its project: it “fertilized” a large zone in the Antarctic Ocean by dumping tons of iron sulfates; the microscopic unicellular algae were meant to grow in abundance and capture CO2.  The zooplankton ate the algae and the experiment was not conclusive; this temporary failure is encouraging other multinationals such as Climos Inc. or (Planktos Science) to resume these kinds of projects under the name of “eco-restoration” for substantial financial returns.

Leasing or acquiring vast “fertile” lands by foreign agro-businesses

If you have lands with no water, if you have water and no fertile land, if you have accumulated enough in your Sovereign Fund then the way to go is to invest in foreign fertile lands for agricultural “self-sufficiency”, which means import food at much lower prices.  Japan, South Korea, China, India, and Saudi Arabia are leading these kinds of joint ventures. Many under-developed States with vast “fertile” lands are leased or acquired by foreign agro-businesses.  So far, 30 millions hectares (the size of 30 Lebanon or the size of the Philippines) are already in use for mass agricultural production. China, rich in water and fertile lands, is leading this policy of “getting out of the borders” since 2004.

Africa is the prime target continent because it has four large and long rivers such as the Nile, the Congo, and the Niger Rivers and the lands are barely worked.  The Sudan, Mozambique, and the Democratic Congo are prime targets in the medium-term.

Vast fertile lands are left unproductive for lack of investment and manpower.  Theoretically, we should have win-win situations but the facts are that the contracts of the multinational agro-businesses are not transparent; there are no clauses on specificities that might benefit the population either in technology or land development.

Most of the contracts are barely three pages long and contain no precisions on investors’ obligations toward investing in infrastructures, durable management of the natural resources, or the training of the local peasants for developing small parcels of land and applying the technology.  The President of Earth Policy Institute, Lester Brown, “Essentially, the technologies used by these agro-investments are meant for massive commercial production and not adaptable to the concerned small local farmers.  There is basically no transfer of technology or training. Thus, what the foreign investors are acquiring in lands is not going to feed the local population as we might hope.

Let us consider the case of the oil rich Arab Gulf States: rice is their main staple and it has to be imported in totality. These States imported a third from India and then India had to curtail its exportation of rice due to climatic problems in order to feed its citizens.  These States imported 10% from Thailand (the first exporter of rice in the world) but then Thailand doubled the price of its rice to $1,000 the ton.  How the Arab Gulf States were to counter this difficulty?  Their Sovereign Funds could be invested in rice fields in Thailand and that what they started to do. You could have a win-win situation: there are vast lands in Thailand that are not cultivated; increasing rice production should not hurt Thailand since rice prices are increasing and Thailand needs to secure oil provision.

Instead of purchasing 10% of its need in rice from Thailand, then the Arab Gulf States might increase it to 40%. One happier story: Thailand needs to establish a rice warehouse in the Arab Gulf to distribute rice at affordable prices.  Things should look pretty promising.  Joint-ventures in agro-businesses where Sovereign Funds invest the money and the Thai peasants got to work in jobs they are proficient in should not raise so much fuss: should it? The problem is that internal politics in Thailand want a scapegoat: Arabs buying lands in Thailand; or rice production is a strictly national occupation and should be 100% reserved for citizens (as if the Arab is going to relocate to plant rice in Thailand!); or Thailand is not Africa and we are a developed nation.

Another case is Madagascar, a vast Island in East Africa.  The standard of living has fallen below the one in 1960.  Why Independence pride has to be highly correlated with miseries in the former colonial States?  Major deforestation is the norm in Madagascar: people need to cook their meals! The South Korean Daewoo wanted to lease 1.3 million hectares for 99 years. What it is with this taboo of 99 years lease of lands? Does every investor has in the back of his head to let his grand child witness his greatness and pray for his great spirit? The deal fell apart after the President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, fell out of power. Apparently, not much transparency and communication were accompanied to that deal. In the meanwhile cattle thieves “dahalo” are on rampage. Even the tiny Maurice Island acquired lands (10,000 ha) in Mozambique for the island food sufficiency. Ramakrishna Karuturi (the king of rose production in 4 millions hectares) is leasing the hectare for two dollars a year in Ethiopia! Now, there can be no doubt that the Ethiopian government had received a fat bribe for such a lousy deal.

The Congo with Capital Brazzaville is half the size of France with barely 4 million citizens concentrated in the capital and the other city Pointe-Noire on the coast. This African States was a French colony and is rich in minerals and uranium.  It cultivates potatoes.  South Afrikaners who lost 30% of their agricultural lands for redistribution programs to the black citizens want to acquire or lease lands in this Congo; the Agri SA (South Africa) has 1,700 agro-businesses interested in producing soja, sugar cane, and corn. Ten million hectares were literally offered to the Afrikaners (a land stretching 500 by 200 km, twice the size of Switzerland) and its location is not yet decided upon; maybe entire virgin forests might be burned for agriculture. The Agri SA is promising to build agro villages with ready made houses contracted to Israeli firms.  What if the deal demanded that thousands of Congolese be trained to develop and grow lands after two years of working in the Afrikaners’ lands?  This deal is a striking political and ecological scandal because the terms of the deal are fishy and not communicated to the citizens.

Kazakhstan is practically a continent in size and barely 1% of the land is privately owned.  This rich and newly independent State imports 40% of milk, 30% of meat, and 45% of fruits and vegetables. The population is mostly rural. The States lease lands for 49 years.  The State of Kazakhstan has set aside 35,000 square-kilometers to lease to foreign investors but only China is interested. The main States vying for foreign fertile lands are:

South Korea has acquired a total of 3 millions hectares (three times the superficies of the State of Lebanon); it is growing fields in Russia (500,000 ha), Sudan (700,000 ha), Madagascar (1.3 million ha), Mongolia (300,000 ha), Philippines (100,000 ha), and Indonesia (25, 000 ha).  The Korean agency for international cooperation (State owned) is creating private and public enterprises to invest into agro-businesses by loans or direct governmental investments. Leases of fertile lands are for 60 years and an extension of another 40 years. In return, Korea will extend technologies and development planning.  It appears that South Korea is projecting unification with North Korea and the flooding of North Korean refugees soon. South Korea is interested in the “krai of Primorie” in Russia with 2.5 millions of arable land.

China has invested for a total of 2 millions hectares.  It has 1.25 millions in South East Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos), in Mozambique (800,000 ha), in Australia (45,000), and in Cuba (5,000 ha). China acquired (80,000 ha) in Russia for just $22 millions.

Japan has acquired a total of one million hectares in Philippines (600,000 ha), USA (225,000 ha), and Brazil (100,000 ha).

India has acquired a total of 1.7 millions hectares in Argentina (600,000 ha), Ethiopia (370,000 ha), Malaysia (300,000 ha), Madagascar (250,000 ha), Indonesia (70,000 ha), and in Laos (50,000 ha).  The Indian government has extended loans to 80 agro-businesses to purchase 350,000 ha in Africa.

Saudi Arabia has invested in Indonesia (one million ha), Senegal (500,000 ha), and in Mali (200,000 ha).  The Arab Emirates has invested in Pakistan (325,000 ha), and in Sudan (400,000 ha). Egypt has invested in Uganda (850,000 ha).  Libya has invested in Ukraine (250,000 ha), and Liberia (5,000 ha).  Qatar invested in the Philippines (100,000 ha).

Global Resolutions

Africa is the remaining poorest continent with vast fertile lands and plenty of manpower to exploit for agro-business enterprises. Africa is targeted to be exclusively the world’s food basket in this century. The UN, the EU, economic superpower States, and private institutions and organizations need to step in to plan, organize, administer, inspect, and enforce appropriate deals for the best management and control of food and water resources.

Since the citizens of independent States that have experienced colonialism are weary of camouflaged colonialism in other forms then their governments are circumventing land laws by enacting laws of mixed private enterprises with lease or acquisition contracts that are not transparent to the public. The UN has to step in and write standard contracts leases that preserve peoples rights to training, sustainable resources, technology know-how, human dignity, right to work, right to share in the management and decisions at community levels, and that these contracts supersede what any other two parties agree on that lack the standard rights and responsibilities.  It is unconscionable that “privatization version” to colonizing Africa infiltrate from the windows. The fact is State funds are loaning money to their own agro-businesses to invading African fertile lands. This neo-colonial pact among State and agro-businesses has to be made clear and restrictions be implemented by world communities.  Territories are changing hands and are no longer under the control of the people and peasants.

The UN has to set up a special fund to purchasing organically modified seeds that have proven not to constitute health hazard; it has to limit the exclusive life duration for exploitation by multinationals that are escaping antitrust laws.

The UN is burdened by countless military conflicts that are interrelated with people seeking better life conditions for survival. An independent branch in the UN needs to be established that would link the causative factors that are generating constant conflicts among neighboring States.  Fair share for water resources is a right that supercede which country control the sources of the rivers.

We hope that the world community will pressure these investors to grow food slowly: resuming the old practices of mass production techniques will ruin the remaining land with fertilizers and pesticides.

El arroz, nuestro alimento básico, corre el riesgo de verse contaminado por una variedad transgénica tolerante al herbicida tóxico glufosinato de amonio. Este arroz transgénico ha sido desarrollado por Bayer CropScience AG, sí la empresa multinacional de la que es parte la farmacéutica Bayer. El arroz, conocido técnicamente como LL62, ha sido modificado genéticamente para resistir altas dosis de glufosinato, fumigado sobre la planta por los agricultores para controlar las malas hierbas. Éstas mueren pero el arroz sobrevive. ¿Quien se lo coma también?
Según Greenpeace, el del arroz transgénico de Bayer conlleva un aumento en la utilización de este herbicida tóxico, lo cual incrementará la venta del glufosinato de Bayer. Pero aumentará también el riesgo para los agricultores, los ciudadanos y el medioambiente. El glufosinato se considera tan peligroso para los seres humanos y el medioambiente, que su uso va a ser prohibido en Europa, según la legislación adoptada recientemente por la Unión Europea.
Greenpeace ha publicado el informe El doble problema de Bayer y el video que les dejo a continuación, divertido a la par que informativo:

Un mensaje de tranquilidad ante la Gripe A

1. Estamos en presencia de una pandemia de un virus que produce sintomas superponibles, aunque de menor intensidad, con los de la gripe estacional, vieja conocida. Este virus aunque se ha dicho que procede de una mutación de un virus de cerdos, no queda claro.
2. Parece ser que la tasa de letalidad de este virus es notablemente inferior al de la gripe estacional (esta última, cada invierno produce miles de muertes sólo en nuestro país, mal cuantificadas porque al igual que el virus nuevo, lo que hace es complicar patologías de base previa, lo que en definitiva es la causa del fallecimiento). La diferencia es que las muertes de la gripe estacional no salen en los medios de comunicación y las de la gripe nueva sí y con todo tipo de detalles y fotografías de afectados y sus familias, lo que genera una situación de miedo e inseguridad en la población. La olla ya va haciendo chup-chup con lo que pasa en Sudamérica en este momento y con los dos casos de España y el cuartel y las escuelas, etc.
3. Existían ya desde hace tiempo en el mercado dos antivirales (oseltamivir y zanamivir) para la gripe estacional que ningún médico recetábamos por su falta de eficacia (únicamente habían demostrado algo así como un acortamiento de un dia en los síntomas). Por tanto debe haber ganas de colocar estos medicamentos.
4. El problema de la gripe es que se cura sola entre cinco y siete días solo con tratamiento sintomático y la trampa consiste en que si el paciente ha tomado un antiviral mientras tanto, atribuirá falsamente la curación al fármaco y nadie le sacará de la cabeza que no ha sido así, que le ha curado su sistema inmunitario (ha pasado tradicionalmente con los antibióticos y la gripe).
5. Cuando en otoño empiecen a multiplicarse los casos de gripe, nueva o vieja, la población asustada correrá a los centros asistenciales reclamando tratamiento, vacuna, etc. Me temo que los políticos recomendarán los antivirales, primero a grupos seleccionados (embarazadas o enfermos crónicos), pero dile tú a un paciente no incluido en uno de dichos grupos que no le das el fármaco, te puede colgar.
6. No creo que un laboratorio saque la vacuna (de seguro carísima) antes de los primeros casos, y aún así dudo que llegara a tiempo. Y ello sería, reconozco ser un malpensado, para no perder el negocio de los antivirales. El precio del oseltamivir (Tamiflu) supera los 40$, pero el otro (Relenza) valía 22,90€ hace dos años. La ministra dice que ya ha comprado no sé cuantos millones de dosis del primero y cree que con ello tranquiliza a la población.
7. Estamos en un mundo de locos.
En resumen, otra vez miedo irracional; poca capacidad de los políticos; nuevo negocio farmacéutico (como siempre con buenos estrategas). En lugar de moderarse los medios de comunicación; aplicar medidas preventivas (tan sencillas como lavarse las manos o utilizar pañuelos desechables); y enviar mensajes de tranquilidad a la población.

Mira EL FUTURO DE LA COMIDA

Sigo liado, así que voy a continuar con lo que posiblemente se convierta en una costumbre: indicar unos cuantos enlaces importantes sobre temas actuales.

Ministra de Salud de Polonia, Ewa Kopacz, hablando en el Parlamento el día 5 de noviembre de 2009: vean por favor este vídeo, lo que dice esta señora es lo que venimos diciendo muchos desde hace tiempo. La diferencia es que esta señora es la ministra de sanidad de un país, y aunque con un lenguaje políticamente correcto, viene a decir que nos la están dando con queso. Espero que otros países despierten del sueño global y sigan su ejemplo.

Vacunación y ley marcial: Texto tremendamente interesante, tal vez aparentemente catastrofista, pero sus indicaciones ya han sido contrastadas y en realidad viene a ser un resumen de lo que sabemos prácticamente a ciencia cierta sobre la conspiración de la gripe A. Información de primera mano que los ciudadanos no pueden dejar pasar.

La paella químico tóxica que propone Bayer: más de multinacionales, esta vez químicas. Si ya no fuera bastante con tener Monsanto, ahora vienen a la carga algunas más (que no es que no lo hicieran antes, simplemente se les oía menos). No dejemos que nos cuelen sus productos venenosos sólo porque ellos sigan ganando dinero a nuestra costa.

Un nuevo informe revela que Estados Unidos financia a los talibanes de forma indirecta: hace poco saltaba la noticia del affaire de los franceses con los talibanes. Mal por ellos, ya que estaban permitiendo sobrevivir a los enemigos, pero al menos se estaban autoprotegiendo. Estos otros hacen negocio incluso a costa de sus propios soldados: mientras decenas de soldados americanos mueren mensualmente, ellos pagan a sus enemigos para poder pasar sus productos sin problemas. Es decir, el perro que se sigue la cola sin alcanzársela nunca. Porque claro, esto está permitido por el propio gobierno Obama y el ejército. Y si por dar imagen dicen que los van a denunciar, no hay problema: las argucias legales permitidas por las alteraciones legales del gobierno Bush (como ya ocurriera con Iraq) os harán libres…

(Quelle|spiegel.de) Pfiffe gegen die Heimmannschaft, Bayer zurück an der Tabellenspitze: In der Top-Partie des 13. Spieltags trennten sich München und Leverkusen unentschieden. Beim FCB dürften die Diskussionen um Trainer Louis van Gaal weitergehen. Hamburg unterlag überraschend dem VfL Bochum. mehr…

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Bürgermeister Friedrich Busch ist unter die Untergangspropheten gegangen: Er hat sich die Mühe gemacht, darzustellen, wie es sich in einer Stadt lebt, die restlos pleite ist. Ein Szenario, das der FDP-Politiker für das Jahr 2015 prophezeit – mit Verweis nicht auf uralte Zeitrechnungen, sondern auf die Haushaltsrede des Stadtkämmerers vom vergangenen Oktober. Busch wolle damit die Leverkusener Öffentlichkeit auf die Problematik aufmerksam machen. Radio Leverkusen zählt aus dem Papier, das wir leider nirgends finden können, diese Punkte auf: “In seiner Vision gibt es keine öffentlichen Veranstaltungen und die Busse fahren nur noch alle halbe Stunde.” Und es nieselt den ganzen Tag.

Ob die Bayer-Medienfassade vorher in Betrieb gehen kann, ist weiterhin unklar: Der Leverkusener Anzeiger weiß, warum Leverkusens größter Fernseher keine Fortschritte macht: Einige der Leuchtdioden zeigten gar nichts oder falsche Farben an, derzeit warte man auf Ersatzteile aus Japan - beim Lieferanten gebe es einen Engpass.

Zank im Hauptausschuss: Anzeiger und RP hörten zu, als Fraktionschef Walter Mende und SPD-Parteigenosse Peter Ippolito den Kämmerer Rainer Häusler scharf angriffen. Dieser hatte auf die Kosten, die der Stadt durch die Kommunalpolitiker entstünden, verwiesen und angeregt, Rats- und Auschussmitglieder zu reduzieren.

Freudig gibt der Anzeiger zur Kenntnis, dass die Politik sich nach seiner Berichterstattung vom Mittwoch nun dem Eumuco-Gelände in Manfort zuwende: SPD, Grüne und auch die Bürgerliste hätten einen Antrag gestellt, das Gelände weiterhin industriell zu nutzen und nicht für einen Baumarkt-Erweiterungsbau aufzugeben.

Die Technischen Betriebe Leverkusen warnen im Anzeiger vor “Kanalhaien”, die an der Haustüre kostengünstige Überprüfungen des Kanalanschlusses anbieten. Die TBL vermittele gerne an seriöse Anbieter. Um Geld zu sparen, sollten sich Nachbarn besser zusammenschließen, rät TBL-Chef Reinhard Gerlich. Bis zum 31. Dezember 2015 müssen alle Hauseigentümer in Leverkusen nachweisen können, dass ihre Kanalanschlüsse dicht sind. Diese Vorschrift scheint auch dann ihre Gültigkeit zu behalten, falls es Leverkusen 2015 gar nicht mehr geben sollte.

Franz Kämmerling ist neuer Vorsitzender des CDU-Ortsverbands Schlebusch und damit Nachfolger von Oberbürgermeister Reinhard Buchhorn, erfahren wir bei leverkusen.com.

Für den Erhalt des alten Amtsgerichtsgebäudes in Opladen setzt sich der ehemalige Bezirksvorsteher Heinz-Gerd Bast ein, melden RP und Anzeiger: Es handele sich um ein “wichtiges Stück Opladener Geschichte”.

Die RP berichtet als Lokalaufmacher über neue Messstellen auf Autobahnen 1 und 3 rund um Leverkusen, die den drohenden Stauinfarkt verhindern helfen sollen und weiß auch vom Ausbauplan des Bundes für das Leverkusener Kreuz mit Brücken oder Tunneln. Dazu die Erinnerung, dass die Autobahn 3 heute ab 22 Uhr erneut komplett bis Montagfrüh gesperrt wird.

Der Anzeiger hat sich weitergebildet und kann seine Berichterstattung über das landesweite Weiterbildungsnetzwerk entsprechend fortsetzen: Heute erfahren wir, dass die Leverkusener Weiterbildungs-Einrichtungen ihre Öffentlichkeitsarbeit bündeln wollen, um neue Teilnehmer zu gewinnen.

Kultur: Die Ausstellung “Slow Paintings” im Museum Morsbroich stellt der Anzeiger sowohl im Lokal- als auch im überregionalen Kulturteil vor (online finden wir nur letzteren).
Beim Konzert von “International Brass” in der Reihe “Orgel Plus” in der Remigius-Kirche lauschte die RP.
Kulturpolitik: Die Förder-Richtlinien für die Kulturvereine in Leverkusen sollen geändert werden, berichtet heute der Anzeiger (gestern bereits die RP, leider haben wir das nicht online gefunden).

Why do the Germans have to be such brilliant engineers? They refuse to let me see the rest of Europe!

A monorail train hangs suspended from a suspension bridge over a street in Wuppertal, Germany.

Damn those Germans! Every time I think I’m done with Germany, they come up with something to pull me back.

I can’t help it. It’s the geek in me.

First, it was the Magdeburg water bridge. Now, I have to work in the northern Rhine city called Wuppertal.

At this rate, I’ll never see the rest of Europe!

Never heard of Wuppertal? Neither had I until very recently. Population about 350,000 — slightly larger than New Orleans, slightly smaller than the city of Oakland, built on either side of a river. Apparently, it’s very “green,” with two-thirds of it being woods, gardens, parks, fields and so on.

It’s also got some history to it, being the birthplace of Friedrich Engels, who co-wrote The Communist Manifesto along with Karl Marx.

And it’s the birthplace of Friedrich Bayer. Yes, that Bayer, the aspirin people. Which makes Wuppertal, among other things, the birthplace of heroin.

But neither those historical tidbits nor all that greenery is what’s pulling me to this place. It’s the Schwebebahn — their monorail.

Okay, maybe you rode monorails as a kid at Disneyland or Disneyworld, but this is no amusement ride. This is how Wuppertal gets around, as this YouTube video shows.

Most monorail trains ride on top of their single rail. In Wuppertal, they hang from theirs.

Passengers ride in cars suspended in space, 24 feet over the streets and 40 feet over the river, at speeds around 40 miles per hour. That “hang” allows them to tilt on curves, so the trains never have to slow down for them.

This would be some pretty slick technology even today. The Germans came up with it in 1901, two years before the Wright Brothers got off the ground. A century and change later, the system is still moving people — 75,000 a day, 25 million a year.

It even managed to survive the World War 2 bombing that wasted nearly half the town.

Now you know I have to ride this thing!

FOOTNOTE
You may wonder, “Why couldn’t Los Angeles come up with something like this?”

Back in 1963, the Swedish firm Alweg, which built the monorail in Seattle, offered Los Angeles a 40-mile monorail line. They’d keep the fares until the construction was paid for, then hand it to the city. Cost to the taxpayers: zero.

The City Council’s response: We like our gridlock. We think smog is sexy. Go away.

If you drive around L.A. today, no need to tell you the rest of the story. You’re living it.

First time I’ve seen something quite this comprehensive (above).  They say “case studies,” but that’s liberal.  “Links to” is more fitting.  But even still, it’s a handy and quick compilation that includes examples from many of our clients, including:  Accenture, BAE Systems, Bayer, Chevron, Dell, Mattel, Rubbermaid, Virgin America and Xerox, and some large client competitors, including Crest, General Mills and Nokia.  Click on the pic above to get to the link, or click here.  Companies are listed alphabetically, with links to the social media efforts right there.