Proposed legislation in Syria

SYRIA: New draft law targets sex traffickers

We want to have the best legislation in the world to counter the issue of trafficking...Most importantly, for the first time the trafficked person will be considered a victim and not punished. We will go after the perpetrators and the causes of trafficking.

Why is this revolutionary?

Quote

Internal and external are ultimately one. When you no longer perceive the world as hostile, there is no more fear, and when there is no more fear, you think, speak and act differently. Love and compassion arise, and they affect the world.
-Eckhart Tolle

Standing on the shoulders of...

This week I am standing on the shoulders of the U.S. soldiers who testified against the violence and torture they were encouraged to perpetrate in Iraq. It's not easy to speak up against such a strong combination of military power, patriotism and fear. I give so much credit to these soldiers who gave up heroism to speak out against the things they did and saw. I have even stronger appreciation for them because not only are they dealing with strong idealism (from both sides), but they have to come to terms with their own participation in killing people. It's courageous that through the guilt and shame of their involvement, along with the rejection of the hero label, that these soldiers are so vocal against what truly is horrible. Hopefully they will help us to see that the violence and torture perpretrated by U.S. soldiers is not the work of a "few bad seeds". It obviously is deeply entrenched in the U.S. government and military.

More on the Thai Government

Although I chose the Thai government to stand on the shoulders of regarding their policies on drugs, I'm not a fan of most of their work. This is why I am apprehensive about being inspired by any government. When it comes down to it, just about all governments are guilty of some pretty nasty things, and Thailand is no exception. While I admire their stance against the pharmaceutical companies, their record on religious segregation is disgusting. This is why ruling under any religion is dangerous, whether Buddhism, Christianity or Islam. It allows for the oppression and persecution of other religious group in that country.

Standing on the shoulders of...

This week I am standing on the shoulders of the Thai government. It' s pretty rare that I am inspired by any government, but the current one in Thailand has stood their ground in using Compulsory Licensing for drugs. Their actions have been critcized by pharmaceutical companies and by the EU, but Thailand continues to use compulsory licensing to keep down the costs of drugs to its residents.

My ongoing battle with soda

Speaking of fighting against conglomerates feeding our bodies with toxic substances (as in my last few posts regarding Rx drugs), it has come to my attention recently that I am addicted to soda. I've always known this on some level, but thought it was more mild than it is. Is there such a thing as a mild addiction? Sadly, compared to many Americans, I drink less amounts of soda on a regular basis (I rarely drink more than one per day). However, I just cannot seem to give it up. I think part of this may stem from the lack of mental stimulation at my current job. All I do is sit around and think about not drinking soda (and write in my blog).
I've been thinking about it more and more lately. I need to rid myself of my dependence on soda. it's so bad for me in so many ways.
According to wedmd, I need to do the following to stop drinking soda. My comments italicized.
1. Make up my mind. Okay.
2. Switch to diet soda. Gross!
3. Go Caffeine-free. I've been trying to mindfully reduce my intake of caffeine lately and have discovered that it's pretty hard to find beverages that are caffeine-free (that are not juices, which when I'm looking for something to drink midday, are mostly sugar and too acidic for my bladder).
4. Stock up on alternatives. WedMD recommends milk, cow or soy, to which I say no thank you. I have been trying to drink more water though. I find it's lack of sugar to be unsatisfying at times though. I know that this will change with time (I have done this before), but I'm so impatient.

Okay, so on with step 1, I am making up my mind to stop drinking soda. And I do so while sipping on a bottle of coke. Step 1a for me, throw out rest of coke. You know what, I'm just going to make that step 2. I'm not going to bother with the diet sodas. Why would someone go and wreck perfectly good soda by taking away the sugar? Next step for me is to reduce my caffeine intake. This will be a bit of a challenge for me, but I will continue to do so. Enough about my soda drinking now, I'm going to get some water from the cooler.

On a completely different note, I found this interesting bit about dialects in the U.S.:

Throughout most of the Midwest, from western Pennsylvania, through the Great Plains, to Oregon, the preferred usage is 'pop'. According to a huge survey across America the term 'pop' is a bit more popular with Americans than 'soda' (but only barely).

Ha, New York! That'll teach you to tease me about my use of the term pop (and the way in which I pronounce sooooda)

He He, also this was a footnote to the article:

The Midwestern, or Midland, dialect refers to the speech in an absolutely vast swathe of land whose denizens would contend that they have no accent.

Uh oh, the BBC is onto us...

It's not all puppy dogs and lollipops

In 2007, for the first time in 46 years, the rate of pharmaceutical sales growth has declined. What has caused this decline? (Which by the way is not a decrease in the sales of pharmaceuticals, but a decrease in the growth of sales. It just means the sales are not growing at such a speed as in previous years. Sales are still increasing.). Are people taking less drugs? No. Are the costs of drugs decreasing? No, well sort of. Actually yes and no. According to the AP, the decline was partly due to "branded pharmaceuticals" losing "exclusivity". Because of this a whole wealth of generics were released bringing down the costs of the drugs and taking consumers from the higher priced brand drugs. So, in this respect costs have decreased.

But, it's not all puppy dogs and lollipops. Brand name drugs, especially for rare diseases, are continuing to be a devastating expense. Could you imagine paying hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for a drug necessary to your health? Imagine paying that much money for a drug at dosage higher than needed. Taking more of a drug than is optimal for your health. This stems in part from direct marketing to MD's. Yet another need for advocacy here.

Good thing another book has been written to shed light to even more misgivings of pharmaceutical companies. I'm sure it will fit nicely on bookshelves like mine, ignored by much of the public. From reading the review in the New York Times, it looks like many of the author's allegations are not new (see Marcia Angell's groundbreaking "The Truth About Drug Companies"), but I'm hoping that she reaaserts the problems brought to light by others with more examples and statistics. As far as I am concerned, the more problems are brought to light, the less we can ignore them (as hard as we may try).

There is the rigging of studies, so that to be deemed “effective” a drug need only perform better than a sugar pill. There are the promotional strategies that evade the need for F.D.A. warnings by, say, planting logos for the sexual enhancement drug Viagra and the antidepressant Wellbutrin on Nascar vehicles. There is the co-option of doctors and university researchers by aggressive, payola-dispensing drug company representatives. (from NY Times review of the book)

Although the rate of drugs sales has decreased, the AP reports that the number of drugs covered by Medicare Part D has increased. Indicating an increase in the amount of people enrolling in drug plans. One would hope that insurance companies would help to influence the decrease in drug costs, so they do not have to pay so much. But in reality, a drug that is too expensive for insurance companies is generally not covered by the plan, leaving the individual to bare the entire cost of the drug.

It sounds like Peterson's book does touch on the effects to older Americans. Something to think about when considering the large amounts of drugs that seniors take.

And when the side effects of sleeping pills or antidepressants
mean more elderly people fall down, the solution is not likely to be the
scaling back of such prescriptions. “Instead,” she writes, “the companies have used the statistics on falls to create a new blockbuster pharmaceutical market for drugs they claim will reduce the chances of breaking a bone.” The market for just two of these drugs, Fosamax and Actonel, is expected to be worth $10 billion by 2011.

Hmmm, interesting perspective.