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polly7
polly7's Journal
polly7's Journal
April 1, 2012
Monsanto, a half-century of health scandals
Monsanto, a half-century of health scandals
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_64376.shtml
By Soren Seelow. Le Monde.
Translated for Axis of Logic by Siv O'Neall
Le Monde (French). Axis of Logic (English Translation)
Thursday, Mar 22, 2012
This translation of 'Monsanto, un demi-siècle de scandales sanitaires' has received the full authorization to be published on anglophone sites by Le Monde and the author, Soren Seelow.
The giant U.S. agribusiness Monsanto was found guilty on Monday Feb. 13, after being sued by a small farmer from Charente who had been poisoned by a herbicide. This event is a first in France. On the scale of the history of the one-hundred-year-old multinational, this sentence constitutes just one more episode in an already long record of court procedures.
PCBs, Agent Orange, dioxin, GMO, Aspartame, growth hormones, herbicides (Lasso and Roundup) ... a number of products that have made the fortune of Monsanto, have been marred by health scandals and trials sometimes leading to their prohibition. But nothing has so far hindered the irresistible rise of this former chemical giant who converted back to biogenetics and has mastered the art of lobbying. Portrait of a multinational multi-recidivist. ........
PCBs, Agent Orange, dioxin, GMO, Aspartame, growth hormones, herbicides (Lasso and Roundup) ... a number of products that have made the fortune of Monsanto, have been marred by health scandals and trials sometimes leading to their prohibition. But nothing has so far hindered the irresistible rise of this former chemical giant who converted back to biogenetics and has mastered the art of lobbying. Portrait of a multinational multi-recidivist. ........
April 1, 2012
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance: Policy Recommendations to Save Lives
, Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)*
Correspondence: Robert J. Guidos, 1300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209 (rguidos@idsociety.org).
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/suppl_5/S397.full
Antimicrobial resistance is recognized as one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide [1]. Drug-resistant infections take a staggering toll in the United States (US) and across the globe. Just one organism, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), kills more Americans every year (?19,000) than emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, and homicide combined [2]. Almost 2 million Americans per year develop hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), resulting in 99,000 deaths [3], the vast majority of which are due to antibacterial (antibiotic)-resistant pathogens. Indeed, two common HAIs alone (sepsis and pneumonia) killed nearly 50,000 Americans and cost the US health care system more than $8 billion in 2006 [4]. In a recent survey, approximately half of patients in more than 1,000 intensive care units in 75 countries suffered from an infection, and infected patients had twice the risk of dying in the hospital as uninfected patients [5]. Based on studies of the costs of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens versus antibiotic-susceptible pathogens [6–8], the annual cost to the US health care system of antibiotic-resistant infections is $21 billion to $34 billion and more than 8 million additional hospital days.
Antibiotic-resistant NDM-1 Is Undermining India's Medical Sector
Antibiotic-resistant NDM-1 Is Undermining India's Medical Sector
By Sonia Shah
Source: Foreign AffairsSaturday, March 31, 2012
http://www.zcommunications.org/antibiotic-resistant-ndm-1-is-undermining-indias-medical-sector-by-sonia-shah
"Some of modern medicine's most heralded interventions -- from routine surgeries to organ transplants and cancer treatments -- may soon be too dangerous. The viability of these procedures hinges on physicians' ability to use antibiotics to swiftly vanquish any bacterial infections that might arise in the course of treatment. For decades, physicians have been able to choose from hundreds of different kinds of antibiotics to do the job, including many powerful "broad spectrum" varieties that indiscriminately kill a wide range of bacteria. But over the past two decades, antibiotic drugs have started to fail one by one, as bacteria with resistance to them have emerged and spread. Taming the new drug-resistant pathogens requires ever more toxic, expensive, and time-consuming therapies, such as a class of last-resort antibiotics called carbapenems, which must be administered intravenously in hospitals. In the United States alone, fighting drug-resistant infections costs up to 8 million additional patient hospital days and up to $34 billion every year (http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/suppl_5/S397.full).
Now, the emergence in India of a particularly nasty form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which renders even the last-resort drugs obsolete, could bring about an era of unstoppable infections. To contain the bacteria, South Asian governments must quickly reform their public health practices and medical manufacturers must fast-track the development of new drugs. But with the Indian political establishment prioritizing building up its lucrative private health sector over making costly public health reforms, and policies aimed at recalibrating drug research and development in the West stymied, the political will to accomplish the job is scarce.
In India, antibiotic use is virtually unregulated. Antibiotics are widely available without a prescription and, as in the United States, affluent people tend to consume the drugs whether medically necessary or not -- for everything from colds to diarrhea. Meanwhile, when ill, India's poor tend to scrape together a few rupees to buy a couple doses of antibiotic at a time, enough to quell their symptoms but not enough to clear their infections. Both patterns of consumption contribute to the development of drug-resistant bacteria. So, it is no wonder that, even before the new super-resistant strain was first documented, over 50 percent of the bacterial infections that occurred in Indian hospitals were resistant to commonly used antibiotics............"
Now, the emergence in India of a particularly nasty form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which renders even the last-resort drugs obsolete, could bring about an era of unstoppable infections. To contain the bacteria, South Asian governments must quickly reform their public health practices and medical manufacturers must fast-track the development of new drugs. But with the Indian political establishment prioritizing building up its lucrative private health sector over making costly public health reforms, and policies aimed at recalibrating drug research and development in the West stymied, the political will to accomplish the job is scarce.
In India, antibiotic use is virtually unregulated. Antibiotics are widely available without a prescription and, as in the United States, affluent people tend to consume the drugs whether medically necessary or not -- for everything from colds to diarrhea. Meanwhile, when ill, India's poor tend to scrape together a few rupees to buy a couple doses of antibiotic at a time, enough to quell their symptoms but not enough to clear their infections. Both patterns of consumption contribute to the development of drug-resistant bacteria. So, it is no wonder that, even before the new super-resistant strain was first documented, over 50 percent of the bacterial infections that occurred in Indian hospitals were resistant to commonly used antibiotics............"
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance: Policy Recommendations to Save Lives
, Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)*
Correspondence: Robert J. Guidos, 1300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209 (rguidos@idsociety.org).
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/52/suppl_5/S397.full
Antimicrobial resistance is recognized as one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide [1]. Drug-resistant infections take a staggering toll in the United States (US) and across the globe. Just one organism, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), kills more Americans every year (?19,000) than emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, and homicide combined [2]. Almost 2 million Americans per year develop hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), resulting in 99,000 deaths [3], the vast majority of which are due to antibacterial (antibiotic)-resistant pathogens. Indeed, two common HAIs alone (sepsis and pneumonia) killed nearly 50,000 Americans and cost the US health care system more than $8 billion in 2006 [4]. In a recent survey, approximately half of patients in more than 1,000 intensive care units in 75 countries suffered from an infection, and infected patients had twice the risk of dying in the hospital as uninfected patients [5]. Based on studies of the costs of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens versus antibiotic-susceptible pathogens [6–8], the annual cost to the US health care system of antibiotic-resistant infections is $21 billion to $34 billion and more than 8 million additional hospital days.
March 20, 2012
Food as a Commodity
Food as a Commodity
By Fred Magdoff
Source: Monthly ReviewTuesday, March 20, 2012
http://www.zcommunications.org/food-as-a-commodity-by-fred-magdoff
However, there is a critical contradiction when any basic human need is produced and sold as a commodity, whether we are considering food, health care, drinking water, or shelter. Capitalism naturally produces a stratification of wealth that includes the unemployed, the working poor, a better-off working class, a middle class, and a relatively small group of very rich individuals. The bottom strata of society—encompassing the members of what Marx called the reserve army of labor—are absolutely essential to the smooth working of the system. It allows easy access to labor when the economy expands and helps keep wages down, as workers are aware that they can easily be replaced.1 Even in a wealthy country such as the United States the numerous unemployed and those in low-paying jobs cannot afford all of their basic living costs—rent, electricity, transportation (irrational patterns of development plus inadequate public transportation means that cars are frequently needed to get to work), clothes, medical care, food, etc.
In some parts of the global South, of course, conditions are far worse. The commodity nature of food results in food price levels far above many people’s meager means, producing a lack of adequate nutrition. The United Nations estimates that there are close to one billion people worldwide who suffer from malnutrition. This leads to severe health problems and death for millions. Food deprivation, though falling short of severe malnutrition, is still a very serious condition. Hence, a sense of injustice associated with rising food prices and unequal access to food was a major factor spurring revolts in the Arab world over the last year.
Because food products are commodities, and the whole point of the food/agriculture system is to sell more and make more profits, there is massive advertising surrounding food, especially the most profitable sector—processed foods. High caloric but low nutritional-value foods, such as sugary breakfast cereals, are pushed on children. And because these processed foods are relatively inexpensive and available at local convenience stores that often do not carry higher quality food like fruits and vegetables, the commodity nature of food is part of the explanation for the surge in obesity, especially among the poor.
Because food products are commodities, and the whole point of the food/agriculture system is to sell more and make more profits, there is massive advertising surrounding food, especially the most profitable sector—processed foods. High caloric but low nutritional-value foods, such as sugary breakfast cereals, are pushed on children. And because these processed foods are relatively inexpensive and available at local convenience stores that often do not carry higher quality food like fruits and vegetables, the commodity nature of food is part of the explanation for the surge in obesity, especially among the poor.
......However, the only way to guarantee that food reaches all people in sufficient quantity and quality is to develop a new system that considers food a human right and no longer considers it a commodity. Only then will we be able to fulfill the slogan, “Food for People, Not for Profit.”
March 19, 2012
No Justice Without Peace
No Justice Without Peace
By David Swanson
Source: Warisacrime.orgMonday, March 19, 2012
http://www.zcommunications.org/no-justice-without-peace-by-david-swanson
"The Military Industrial Complex is a banker bailout every year.
It's over a trillion dollars a year through various departments and as much as all other nations' militaries combined. It's over half of federal discretionary spending every year. And that's not counting the sales to foreign democracies and dictatorships that make the United States the top weapons supplier to the globe and allow our military the odd distinction of fighting most of its wars against weapons produced in the Homeland formerly known as our own country. But it IS counting the weapons we give to other countries. Yesterday even the Washington Post said we should stop arming Egypt. It made no mention of Israel. And it IS counting the transformation of our local police forces into mini-militaries. With due respect to Mayor Bloomberg the NYPD is not the seventh largest military in the world, but it thinks it is. And we don't get the trillion dollars a year back. In fact, we borrow it and pay interest on it, hollowing out our economy, creating a giant trade deficit with China, keeping interest rates super low, and periodically crashing Wall Street and bailing it out. And when we have big wars we borrow and spend more money on top of the standard budget. The trillion dollars is to make us ready in case we have a war, but then the war costs are extra.".....
It's over a trillion dollars a year through various departments and as much as all other nations' militaries combined. It's over half of federal discretionary spending every year. And that's not counting the sales to foreign democracies and dictatorships that make the United States the top weapons supplier to the globe and allow our military the odd distinction of fighting most of its wars against weapons produced in the Homeland formerly known as our own country. But it IS counting the weapons we give to other countries. Yesterday even the Washington Post said we should stop arming Egypt. It made no mention of Israel. And it IS counting the transformation of our local police forces into mini-militaries. With due respect to Mayor Bloomberg the NYPD is not the seventh largest military in the world, but it thinks it is. And we don't get the trillion dollars a year back. In fact, we borrow it and pay interest on it, hollowing out our economy, creating a giant trade deficit with China, keeping interest rates super low, and periodically crashing Wall Street and bailing it out. And when we have big wars we borrow and spend more money on top of the standard budget. The trillion dollars is to make us ready in case we have a war, but then the war costs are extra.".....
March 19, 2012
http://www.zcommunications.org/losing-fear-by-robert-fisk
Losing Fear
Losing Fear
By Robert Fisk and Paul Holmes
Source: TVNZMonday, March 19, 2012
A short time ago, about an hour ago, I spoke to Robert Fisk, Middle East expert, Middle East historian, author and columnist with Britains Independent newspaper, in Beirut, and I asked him about that suicide bombing overnight and the troops said to be massing outside Damascus. What did he make of it?
http://www.zcommunications.org/losing-fear-by-robert-fisk
February 12, 2012
Anna Carastathis posted something that helped me to understand the need for consideration of the various forms of oppression from an intersectional viewpoint:
http://www.kickaction.ca/node/1499
This request, as was stated in the original thread requesting the group, would in no way take away from the valuable and necessary purpose of any existing group. Personally, I enjoy reading them all, but I don't necessarily feel that I 'fit' in any of them. I think it could be an interesting and educational opportunity to allow all ... Feminists, LGTB, those from the Men's Group, Women's Issues ... to come together and be able to discuss certain topics we all care about in a less restrictive (I don't mean restrictive as a negative here, I completely respect that every group needs the safety of its own existing SOP) ... perhaps, 'more inclusive' environment.
Thank you for your consideration.
Dear Admins ....
I am posting to reiterate a request made by justiceischeap in H&M:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/124029420#post269 for the creation of a Feminism & Diversity Group.
There has been obvious interest in the creation of this group, with many more than the 10 necessary votes of support. The original thread has gotten quite long, and the message perhaps lost in some of the misunderstandings contained in it.
"Looking for a Group that expands on traditional definitions of feminism? We are seeking people interested in intersectionality--the concept often used in critical theories to describe the ways in which oppressive institutions (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, classism, etc.) are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from one another. Intersectionality was developed as part of post-second wave feminist philosophy, including third wave feminism, in an effort to bring a wider and more inclusive focus to Feminism. We want to offer a safe haven that allows issues surrounding race, gender, orientation and class be the forefront of feminist discussion."
Anna Carastathis posted something that helped me to understand the need for consideration of the various forms of oppression from an intersectional viewpoint:
http://www.kickaction.ca/node/1499
"So, to sum up.
We all have intersectional identities that are shaped through systems of power relations, and through experiences of oppression.
If feminism is to be a truly liberatory politics seeking the freedom of all oppressed people, it has to recognize this important insight: that “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own” – that I am not free as long as any oppressed person remains chained.
Privileged white feminists involved in the feminist movements in US and Canada failed to realize this, and instead continually overgeneralized their own specific experience as the experience of all women.
They fell prey to “divide and conquer” strategies that distracted them from realizing what is the real source of their oppression, and how the privileges they are granted in virtue of their race, class, heterosexuality and national status, are based on the oppression of other women.
Intersectionality helps us to understand how gender, class, race, and other factors in our experience fit together. It helps us come up with better feminist politics that seek the emancipation of all people – not just an élite minority of privileged women.
It helps us understand that some problems we share as women and girls, and others we don’t share. But what we all share as oppressed people is a common enemy: a shared oppressor.
Intersectional approaches to feminist theorizing and activism can help us overcome the “Oppression Olympics” problem and the problem of having to focus on one aspect of one’s identity at the expense of ignoring another."
This request, as was stated in the original thread requesting the group, would in no way take away from the valuable and necessary purpose of any existing group. Personally, I enjoy reading them all, but I don't necessarily feel that I 'fit' in any of them. I think it could be an interesting and educational opportunity to allow all ... Feminists, LGTB, those from the Men's Group, Women's Issues ... to come together and be able to discuss certain topics we all care about in a less restrictive (I don't mean restrictive as a negative here, I completely respect that every group needs the safety of its own existing SOP) ... perhaps, 'more inclusive' environment.
Thank you for your consideration.
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