Tag Archives: health

Movie Going Recovery

Happy 2006 dear readers! While I shold be recovering tonight from last night’s partying, the truth is, I’m recovering from seeing one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. It was so terrible I won’t use its title and I’ll stop talking about it after this next sentence. My only wish is that I could one day meet Peter Jackson and skowl at him for making this piece of shit Ape movie, when he could have taken all those millions and built a hospital – ANYWHERE – its not like the world doesn’t need a new one.

Speaking of world health crises, though I’m sure it’s a downer to start off the year this way, there are to many downers to ignore on this here blog; so to kick off the year, note that the French government is surprised to discover that 30 years of nuclear testing in French polynesia, the area is contaminated to the teeth. 600 new cancer cases per year, 250 deaths, and all this after the gov. did a whole compaign way back when insisting nuclear testing is fun for the whole polynesian family.

Time for some charges of crimes against humanity against some old rich white guys rotting away in the French parliament. Lets go… drag their old bones up here and let’s have the truth about this cover up.

bicyclemark86: The Malawi Show

The first ever skype call to the continent of Africa on my show, we speak with Jesse the LoungeChicken, blogger and global citizen, about the country where he lives: Malawi.

AudioCommunique #86(mp3)
43min+, 80kbps, 24Mb+

Discussed:

I have 24 hours left before its time to fly, so Im keeping notes to a minimum;
Robert Fisk on journalism opens
LoungeChicken.org – a fantastic blog that Jesse and co. write
How he got from New Jersey to Malawi
His house staff
The Famine in Malawi
Race and Class in Malawi
The Health System and Fight against Aids
Bloggers in Malawi
The future of vlogging and media

Music includes:
Zap Mama – African Sunset
Specials – Pressure Drop
Sweet Honey and the Rock – (i cant remember)
Ed Mecija – Beautiful Friend. (A great artist I met on myspace)
Stars – Elevator Love Song

So I was talking to a Parliamentarian

Sometime during the thanksgiving weekend extravaganzas, I found myself at the goodbye party for my dear friend and neighbor. As a dynamic international, naturally she had a lineup of multicultural/multilingual guests that would make Kofi Annan blush.

At one point I’m introduced to a very charming young couple. At first he spoke Portuguese to me and explained that he’d studied and lived there. Then his partner engaged me in conversation and we got into the topic of what the Netherlands is doing wrong/ what bothers me about life in this country. I was initially surprised by her curiousity, she pressed me to give specific points and seemed to feed off every point I brought up. So I gave her my grand list:

  1. Health Insurance: No one in this country, including the government people who wrote the plan, understand the new health insurance system they passed which will take effect in January. Its a big step towards privatization, and as she pointed out — there will suddenly be Dutch citizens without health insurance.
  2. Cars: They’ll complain forever about the traffic in this country, but everyone keeps buying cars and wanting more cars. You always hear about how much they ride their bikes, but the fact is, inside and outside the cities, Dutch people love owning cars and don’t want to be slowed by pesky subjects like pollution.
  3. Temp Employment: You know where I stand on this one. Its the fastest growing employer in the country and its not really an employer and in the long-run, skrews everyone.

But here’s the kicker. After having this great conversation, the couple says goodbye as they have to leave. Later my friend comes over and asks, “So did you enjoy meeting your first Dutch Parliamentarian?”

I was speechless, I’d been going on and on, point by point about what policies were mistakes, and as it turns out, I was talking to someone with a very big say in all that (Green Party). And she seemed to love hearing my take… even agreed on many points. Small town, this Amsterdam.

How a Nation Should Use A Surplus

Anytime you start to compare Canada and the United States, you always get those guys wrapped in the flag who denounce Canada as weak and proclaim their health system as falling apart and hated. And then you might hear a Canadian defend his/her health system and their extremely positive international image. As much as I hate to attract those dam people, I have to talk about the Canadian government’s budget surplus and how I believe they are acting as a prime example of how a stable, mature, and future oriented government SHOULD use their budget surplus. 13.4 billion canadian clams per year is roughly what we’re talking aboot, by the way.

So let’s see, how is the prime minister’s government planning to use it’s surplus:

  1. Personal Taxcuts, specifically including a cut for the lowest income brackets.
  2. Investment in education (brilliant idea not often followed by some!), for research and student funding (39 billion over 6 years)
  3. And for all ye maple syrup producers, a reduction in the corporate tax rate

And actually, before any of those, the biggest reason the Canadian government deserves a bit of respect is that they are one of the very few nations in the world that can balance a budget. Take note EU with your broken budgets, and US with your drunken spending on weapons of mass destruction distraction.

Little Green Laptops for the Poor

I was recently talking with a new friend, in Brussels, who was a frequent visitor to this here blog. And at some point in the discussion she said something that I’ve heard others mention to me as well. – While being critical and pointing out problems is good, coming up with solutions or suggestions will also be good. I felt it was a good point, though I fancy myself a critic above all, and let readers and better minds find solutions… something like that. I digress; I shall strive to pay more attention to solutions and at least glimmers of hope in my blogging.

But it is so hard to find the silver lining when I look at this World Summit on the Information Society. How bright and free can the future for information and society be, when you host the grand event in a one-party dictatorship? And of course, they decided before the meeting even took place, that in fact the regulation of internet domains will continue to be controlled by the American ICANN. You know, so the internet stays American and out of the hands of say – the world. But i guess I should expect nothing more from an event hosted by president Ben Ali who specializes in making journalists disappear and keeping European tourists nice and tan.

But wait— a ray of hope! Yes… if we forget just for a second about world poverty, hunger, injustice, lack of access to clean water, sanitation, shelter, health care, education.. oh the list goes on and on. – If we put all of that aside, the conference has shed light on a wonderful new invention that will bring laptops to the poor! The green machine, as they call it, will be rechargable with a crank, have wi-fi, and run on linux! There ya go little starving, traumatized, war-ravaged congelese youth… now run along and surf the net.

OK I’m using sarcasm, but I do love the idea of the anyone and everyone having computers. I just think there are, oh, a few basic needs that should get the same priority as laptops. But maybe if the summit tried to address those problems the Tunisian secret police would rush in and break all their computers and legs.

Retail Doctors and the Assault on Healthcare

Sore throat and feeling not so hot on this rainy Amsterdam morning. And before I begin my work chores, I wanted to rap about an issue that concerns me, thus far effecting the US and I believe the UK: Retail Clinics!

Never heard of them? Luck you, I’d say. Maybe you use them all the time? I’d love to hear some testimony. It was recently brought to my attention in the Financial Times and the Philly Inquirer that there’s a new trend in healthcare – sticking a quickie clinic in the back of department stores and whore whole sale clubs. Basically while you go in to buy toothpaste, potato chips, and some batteries… you can also go in the back and visit Dr. K-Mart who will diagnose you and send you on your way in 15 minutes. Wham-Bam-Thankyou’mam. And back you go to finish your shopping, maybe pick up some ice cream on your way to the check-out.

Not that I fear progress, mind you. I thought the emergence of drive-thru insurance was exciting! I love the I-pod, though I can’t afford one. But retail doctors? Is there a shortage of doctors and are doctors offices so bad that THIS is a good thing for people? Will these quickiemart MD’s really care about their patients? Does anyone in these stores actually give a shit about their customers?

Personally I hope they fail miserably. It is insulting the way these retail stores think the answer to the lack of social services and access to health care is that it simply be fit into a corner of their store, next to the pretzel vender and the 1-hour photo.

And now Im sure someone who loves minuteclinic will comment and condemn my questioning….