Spin Doctor Becomes Unspun...
Whilst it would be easy to go extremely local and comment on the Queensland State Election campaign currently underway I think I'll reserve my wrath for just a little be longer. The
Gold Coast Bulletin is doing a good enough job of highlighting the incompetence of Queenslnd politicians.
My quick media comment today comes from the letters section of the September/October edition of
Foreign Policy.
(My scanner isn't working properly so I'll type this one out...)
Drugged UpWe commend Erika Check for examining important global health challenges in
"Quest for the Cure" (July/August 2006). However readers might be interested to
know that two of the diseases mistakenly described as "abandoned by modern
medicine," onchocerciais (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis, are in fact
being treated aggressively through programs made possible by pharmaceutical
industry discoveries.
More than 70 million people in the developing world are being treated each
year for river blindness and lymphatic filariasis through the Merck Mectizan
Donation Program. This antiparasitic drug was discovered and developed in the
1970s and 1980s and was approved for use against river blindness following
clinical trials conducted with the World Health Organization and others.
Realizing the impact this innovative drug could have against a widespread,
disabling disease and that those most in need of it were unable to afford it,
Merck made the unprecedented decision in 1987 to donate the drug to all who need
it, for as long as necessary. Almost 20 years later, the drug now reaches more
than 45 million people annually in more than 30 countries in Africa, Latin
America, and the Middle East.
Merck also donates the drug to fight lymphatic filariasis in Africa, where
it is administered with albendazole, a drug donated by GlaxoSmithKline. This
combination is now received by more than 25 million people each year through a
broad international partnership focused on eliminating the disease worldwide by
2020.
Although some developing diseases still lack effective treatment, readers
deserve to know about these successful partnerships that point the way to future
solutions.
-Jeffrey L. Sturchio
Vice President
External Affairs
Merck & Co., Inc.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.
Nice work on behalf of Jeff, bragging about how stand up his Pharmaceutical company is, spinning it very nicely, essentially doing his job... Until he gets bitch slapped by the author Crika Check...
Erika Check replies:Merck's Mectizan Donation Program is laudable. However, it does not
undermine my contention that river blindness and lymphatic filarisis are among
those diseases that have been abandoned by modern medicine. The drug Merck
donates, invermectin, was not initially developed for use in people. It was
invented and marketed as a deworming agent for cattle, dogs, sheep, horses, and
pigs before the company began distributing it to human patients through their
donation program. It is doubtful that the company would have ever created a drug
for treating these neglected diseases had it not been for their interest in
manufacturing a profitable veterinary health medicine.
You have to admit that Jeff really didn't do his research that well...
Now that's out of the way a quick note on the election, heading into its final week of campaign nonsense I shall be posting a number of ridiculous quotes etc, etc, and we shall look to live blogging both the debate on the 8th the election on the 9th of September...
Until then my friends, stay safe...
News Flash
Of little note I am sure to most, but the Australian Government has withdrawn its controversial
Migration Amedment Bill 2006.Just 10 minutes ago Senator Ellison, the manager of Government business told the Senate...
"The decision was made a very short time ago and in the circumstances it's appropriate that we deal with other legislation."It appears as though Howard wasn't willing to loose out on this one!
I am....... in need of a vodka tonic
Keep a Child Alive's new ad featured in some fashion magazine. The next step in celebrity endorsement of charitable causes.......?
But
what the hell does it mean?????
Interesting Times in the Capital
In about two hours time the Leader of the House for the Australian Parliament Tony Abbott is expected to guillotine debate on the
Migration Amedment Bill 2006 and call for a vote. The speeches being made throughout debate have been a fascinating affair, with four government MP's likely to cross the floor and vote with the opposition against the bill.
From
The Australian:'...While it will pass the lower house, the bill faces a more difficult test in the Senate. The Government will have to quell the backbench revolt - or face an embarrassing defeat. The split in the Coalition comes just 14 months after Mr Howard quelled a revolt from the same group of moderates by agreeing to house children of asylum-seekers in community detention.The moderates fear the bill introduced yesterday reverses the gains of 2005 and they are concerned the policy is designed to appease Indonesia rather than to enhance Australia's immigration regime.'One of the dissenting Liberal MP's Russell Broadbent had perhaps one of the more poignant speeches made on why he shall cross the floor:
'
...The decision I had taken to oppose this legislation, to follow my conscience and vote for the first time, and I hope the last time, against the Government of which I was elected as a member, is made because it is in the long-term national interest of this great south land to continue to be a compassionate protector of the rights of refugees, irrespective of the importance of the close relationship between Australia and one of our neighbours.I believe there is a potential for this bill to cause serious harm to the progress we have made on this issue as a nation and to the vulnerable people it would affect. I will be voting against these amendments knowing that there are some in my party who do not agree with the "plural tradition" of the Liberal Party and its principles of free thought and individual conscience. Some warn that any dissent is a form of political death. I am no stranger to death. I have suffered defeat four times, but I have also been elected to this house three times. It is not the office of the federal member that is important; it is what you do in office. I take comfort in the words of Dr Martin Luther King: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." This bill is an issue of challenge and controversy.If I am to die politically because of my stance on this bill, it is better to die on my feet than to live on my knees.As mentioned the vote should take place just before question time. No doubt it shall pass given the governments majority in the house. However to pass the Senate there is little doubt that a few amendments must be made for the Bill to pass. Time will tell, with the bill expected to come before the Senate sometime next week.
I'll let you know if anything interesting happens with the vote, although I doubt it will.
Cold Front Heading For Canberra...
Yeah ok... Pretty sad title for the post but what can I say, It's 0955 and I haven't had a coffee yet.
There has been so much to write about lately it has been hard to actually write. There are people dieing everyday in Lebanon and Israel, for, what I understand anyway, the sake of three (3) kidnapped soldiers. I'm not going to go into the whole debate, I will ask a question though... Why haven't these kidnapped soldiers been paraded around on television, where is the proof of life that we see every other time someone is kidnapped?
Back to Australia, Parliament resumes today and it's been an interesting winter break...
PMJH turned older, Costello found out that PMJH is not going anywhere, and presumably cried. PMJH came to the Gold Coast and made Steven Ciabo his lap dog (I've lost the photo but let's just say the former Bond Student/current Member for Moncrieff had a heck of a time keeping up with the PM on his morning walk). And let's not forget MP Jackie Kelly's shot at stardom in Torvill and Deans, Dancing on Ice (or whatever the show is called.)
It appears things have gone to the ice skaters head with her comments on Sydney Radio station yesterday denigrating the Treasurer (Costello).
'In the interview on ABC Radio on Sunday, Ms Kelly said voters in her area had often told her they did not like Mr Costello's smirk.
She said he was seen as suffering from the outdated image of Liberals being a party for rich, toffee-nosed people from Sydney's affluent north shore and a person with little understanding of issues affecting people from Sydney's west.'Later yesterday afternoon this doozy came from her office...
Mr Costello "had been a great treasurer for 10 years".Today she went further, conceding she had been wrong to denigrate her senior colleague."I'm not the most scripted politician, and I think when you do something wrong you should apologise," Mrs Kelly added."It's not done to bag your colleagues." Question time today at 1400, should be interesting to see if the Labor party can actually score some browny points...
Divorcing a Cause
Again, brain-rest leisure reading. Bye bye landmine help!!!
PAUL McCartney has not only dumped Heather Mills, he's also cut ties with her favorite charity. The divorcing Beatle has written the United Nations Association to say "under the circumstances," he can no longer support its Adopt-A-Minefield program, which helps clear land mines and supports survivors, sources say. The group had planned on his participation in its L.A. fund-raiser this fall. Officials are scrambling for a replacement, and Elton John has turned them down. McCartney's rep wasn't aware of the letter.
[
NY Post]
'Kissinger's Green Light to Suharto'
I [somewhat randomly] stumbled upon
this Hitchens article regarding East Timor, from 2002.
The elections and the independence ceremony were supposed to take place twenty-seven years ago, when the Portuguese colonial power surrendered its authority. But the Indonesian military dictatorship had another idea, which was to engulf its tiny neighbor by force. General Suharto and his deputies made it fairly obvious that they wanted the territory but not the people. They came horribly close to succeeding in this foul design. Ever since, there has been an argument over the precise extent of US complicity with the 1975 aggression. It was known that President Gerald Ford and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, were in Jakarta on December 6 of that year, the day before Indonesian air, land and naval forces launched the assault. Scholars and journalists have solemnly debated whether there was a "green light" from Washington.
Kissinger, who does not find room to mention East Timor even in the index of his three-volume memoir, has more than once stated that the invasion came to him as a surprise, and that he barely knew of the existence of the Timorese question. He was obviously lying. But the breathtaking extent of his mendacity has only just become fully apparent, with the declassification of a secret State Department telegram. The document, which has been made public by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, contains a verbatim record of the conversation among Suharto, Ford and Kissinger. "We want your understanding if we deem it necessary to take rapid or drastic action," Suharto opened bluntly. "We will understand and will not press you on the issue," Ford responded. "We understand the problem you have and the intentions you have." Kissinger was even more emphatic, but had an awareness of the possible "spin" problems back home. "It is important that whatever you do succeeds quickly," he instructed the despot. "We would be able to influence the reaction if whatever happens, happens after we return.... If you have made plans, we will do our best to keep everyone quiet until the President returns home." Micromanaging things for Suharto, he added: "The President will be back on Monday at 2 pm Jakarta time. We understand your problem and the need to move quickly but I am only saying that it would be better if it were done after we returned." As ever, deniability supersedes accountability.
Highly technical language here....
