Blinded
By
Capitalism
 The following news
item appeared in the Guardian (17 June): "Drug firm blocks cheap
blindness cure. Company will only seek licence for medicine that costs
100 times more. A major drug company is blocking access to a medicine
that is cheaply and effectively saving thousands of people from going
blind because it wants to launch a more expensive product on the
market." People with wet mascular degeneration, a common condition
among the elderly, have previously been treated with Avastin, which
prevents impaired eyesight and blindness. The manufacturer Genetech
have not presented it to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
because they are putting Lucentis forward instead. This treatment costs
100 times more. This is good business practice but bad news for the
elderly workers suffering from the condition.
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Conned
By
Capitalism
An example of how capitalism threatens lives
is given in the Guardian (26 June):
"Drug companies are accused today of endangering public health through
widescale marketing malpractices, ranging from covertly attempting to
persuade consumers that they are ill to bribing doctors and
misrepresenting the results of safety and efficacy tests on their
products. In a report that charts the scale of illicit practices by
drug companies in the UK and across Europe, Consumers International -
the world federation of consumer organisations - says people are not
being given facts about the medicines they take because the companies
hide the marketing tactics on which they spend billions."
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Kicked
By
Capitalism
Sport according to most dictionaries is a
"pleasant pastime; amusement or diversion",
but inside modern capitalism it is no such thing. It has become, as
most other human endeavours have become - a ruthless competitive
business. In the business pages of the Observer (16 July) we learn that
Leeds United borrowed over 25 years' future earnings, were relegated
and had to sell all their good players; we also learn that Leicester
City borrowed on future earnings to the extent of £26 million,
and by the way, they were relegated too. So while supporters on the
terraces sing their songs of devotion and undying support the banks,
investors and other money lenders count their gains.
Disgusted
By
Capitalism
In a world where 8 million kids die every year
through lack of clean water and sanitation the
following news item
disgusts us, how about you? "Forget the salt and
lime, you'll need a mint to enjoy this tequila. Producer Tequila
Ley.925 announced
Saturday that it had sold a bottle of Mexico's best-known beverage
in a gold and
platinum casing for a whopping $225,000. This is a really unique bottle
of tequila and our client, a US based collector of fine wines and
spirits, will treasure this prize to add
to an already impressive collection"(Associated Press, 23 July).
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Abandoned
By
Capitalism
President Nixon's praise for the US moonlanders was a cynical
vote-catching ploy
as can be seen by the following press report. "America was so eager to
beat the
Soviet Union to the moon it launched its 1969 mission before it was
ready, a documentary claims. The documentary reveals that the crew had
to use a pen to fix a
broken switch on their lunar module to return to earth, the Daily
Mirror reports.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had accidentally snapped off a circuit
breaker switch. According to Apollo 11: The Untold Story, US president
Richard Nixon prepared an
address announcing the deaths of Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins.
The US
ordered NASA to cut links with the astronauts if disaster was imminent,
not wanting the world to see images of astronauts spinning off into
space" (Herald Sun, 25 July).
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Shunned
By Capitalism
"Las Vegas councillors have made it illegal to give food to homeless
people. In an
effort to curb charity that is said to be having unintended
consequences, the city council has decided to ban food handouts to the
homeless. The law targets so called mobile soup kitchens. It carries a
maximum penalty of a $500 fine and six months in jail." (New York
Times, July 31). It is all so logical, isn't it? You are trying to con
workers into the fantasy that capitalism is a wonderful society and
that they can become capitalists too, when some poor worker in Las
Vegas tries to ask for something to eat. Solution? Ban the soup kitchen.
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