BLOG POSTS

It’s a busy time for world leaders, especially those from European nations. Not only has the annual G20 summit beckoned, but immediately prior was a special private meeting – a sort of European equivalent of Davos – organised by the European think tank, Ambrosetti.

While other world leaders were gathering in the Chinese resort of Hangzhou…

…Merkel, Hollande, and the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, among others, were ensconced at the rather fabulous Villa d’Este, on the shores of Italy’s stunning Lake Como.

Hmmm, nice gardens!

It’s unlikely there was much time for these European elites to relish the delights around them, given that two days later they were off to the G20, and yet another sumptuous display, this time provided by China’s Xi Jinping. But a lot can be discussed in two days and without doubt the chief topic was Britain’s stab-in-the-European-back, known colloquially as ‘Brexit’.

Britain wants to severely restrict the free movement of people into the country while continuing to trade freely with its European neighbours. To put it another way: Britain wants to have its cake and eat it. European leaders are determined that’s not going to happen. After all, rules are rules and ‘free movement across borders’ was one of the prime directives (to coin a phrase from the sci-fi series, ‘Star Trek’) of the Union right from the start. And, as we all know from ‘Star Trek’, a prime directive can never be broken. In this particular case it would undoubtedly lead to the collapse of the European Union.

Is it possible that this is exactly what Britain and the United States would like to see happen? While there’s no solid evidence, there are indications of the possibility. Call this writer an old conspiracy theorist if you like, but the whole ‘Brexit’ thing evolved just a little too smoothly to be totally unplanned:

The lack-lustre campaign of the ‘Remain’ group, headed by prime minister Cameron; Cameron’s super-quick exit after the result was announced; the ‘Leave’ campaign’s top man, Boris Johnson, ducking out of the prime minister’s job just minutes before he was due to stand; a long list of would-be Tory prime ministers conveniently fading away to leave Theresa May as the only candidate for the job; politician Liam Fox, once ousted from the government for serious indiscretions and the foremost player in the ‘Atlantic Bridge’ think tank that linked top Tory politicians with the U.S. Tea Party, brought back into government as (of all things!) Minister for International Trade; the known fact that the referendum was declared by Cameron to be “only advisory”; Theresa May vetoing any parliamentary debate on the issue; Barack Obama telling Britain they’d be ‘at the back of the queue’ if they left the E.U., but now repudiating that by stating:

“I’ve committed to Theresa that we will consult closely with her as she and her government move forward on Brexit negotiations to make sure we don’t see adverse effects in our trading and commercial relationship. Obviously there is an enormous amount of trade that already takes place … That is not going to stop. And we are going to do everything we can to make sure the consequences of the decision don’t end up unravelling what is already a very strong and robust economic relationship…” ^[1]

It all rather smacks of pre-planning.

“The British People have spoken,” and, “Brexit means Brexit,” are two mantras so often repeated by senior U.K. politicians of late that one wonders if they’re having trouble convincing themselves. This shouldn’t be surprising, given that the British people certainly didn’t speak with one voice on the subject, were grossly misled due to a series of downright lies by the ‘Leave’ campaigners led by Boris Johnson (now elevated by May to Foreign Secretary!), and only won the day by one and a quarter million votes out of a total of thirty-three million five hundred and fifty-one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three – or, 3.8%.

Obama is still pushing to complete his pet projects, the secretive and corporate-friendly ‘trade’ agreements he’s spent the last two years persuading world leaders to accept. He’s finding European leaders hard going on the subject. As one, they’re formidable. Split up, they’d likely prove easier to persuade. Of course, Obama’s not stupid and knows he won’t be on the world throne by the time that split might occur, but no doubt his backers have already primed his successor on the subject. After all, they’ve gone to enough trouble to ensure, via their media outlets, that Donald Trump won’t be that person.

Obama still hopes for European success before he leaves office. The continuation of his quote above, reads:

…“But first things first. The first task is figuring out what Brexit means with respect to Europe. And our first task is making sure we go forward on TTIP negotiations in which we have already invested a lot of time and effort.”

And that was surely the second most important topic under discussion by Merkel, Hollande, and the other European politicians and business leaders at Villa D’Este, on the shores of beautiful Lake Como in Italy.

^{[1] “Theresa May joins G20 summit to face Brexit warnings from US and Japan” Guardian, September 4th 2016}

Walter Cronkite got it wrong. America’s health care system is both healthy and caring, and it’s a system that works beautifully – but it only benefits the wealthy and powerful medical barons who run it: the drug and insurance companies, the private medical companies who own the infrastructure and staff, and the huge (often international) pharmaceutical chains who dole out the drugs and accessories at enormous profit, that benefits them all.

During my thirteen years in the United States I received various medical treatments and required certain drugs. The one prescribed the most was Lansoprazole, a proton pump inhibitor for acid reflux. My doctor supplied a three-monthly prescription for this generic of Prevacid, which was filled at our local Walgreens store.

Every three months I would collect my prescription and pay the co-pay. It varied, but averaged around $35-$40. The explanation conveniently stapled to the package by Walgreens contained one piece of information I always took note of. It read: “Your insurance has saved you $xxx.”

The amount of ‘$xxx’ was never less than $350, and on one occasion came close to $500. In total, with the co-pay, this generic drug would have cost between $385 and $585. That’s a lot of money for ninety small capsules filled with a bit of white powder. The cost of one capsule, at its cheapest, was more than $4, and at its most expensive, $6.50. Thank you, insurance company, for paying so much of the cost for me. Surely, it was worth the $450 monthly fee we paid for coverage?

Or, was it?

Two factors would cross my mind each time I collected my prescription: how could anyone without medical insurance ever afford this drug, and, would a similar amount of cocaine be anymore expensive? Probably not.

Recently, I had reason to refill my Lansoprazole prescription in France, having moved there permanently. My French doctor supplied me with a similar three monthly prescription and I took it to our local pharmacy to be filled.

I was dreading the cost. In France I had no medical insurance. We had applied for the French Carte Vitale allowing us to use their public health system, but at that time had not received it. Consequently, my wife and I had to pay full price for drugs and medical treatment.

I proffered my prescription to the pharmacist with some trepidation. He gave me the ninety capsules and asked if I was a member of the health service. I told him: No. In that case, he said, I would have to pay in full for my prescription the sum of 25 euros and eighty centimes – the equivalent of $29.

The full retail price of this drug in France was substantially less than the co-pay demanded by our insurance company for the exact same drug in the United States.

To obtain this prescription I had to visit a French doctor. When I visited a doctor in the U.S. the fee was generally $120. The insurance paid 90%. I paid the remaining $20. A specialist was usually about double – $240.

Prior to leaving my doctor after obtaining my prescription, I asked how I should settle his account. He responded that, without French health insurance, I must pay him 23 euros ($26) cash. That was the amount he received for every consultation, which incidentally lasted for thirty-five minutes, not the fifteen allowed to me by U.S. health services.

French doctors have no imposed time limit on their consultations. They take as long as is necessary. Of course, this means that often there can be a long wait to be seen (we’ve waited up to an hour in the ‘salle d’attente’, even with an appointment) but assured with the knowledge the doctor will listen carefully to your problem, take time to make an assessment of your condition, and definitely not be hammering away at his/her computer keyboard while you’re describing your symptoms.

Here, it seems, is clear evidence that U.S. drug companies, in cahoots with U.S. insurance companies, are grossly inflating the price of their products. It also seems likely that national pharmaceutical chains, like Walgreens, are in on the deal.

Private medical companies now run most of the hospitals and doctor services in America. Patients are being squeezed more and more for that extra buck and doctors are under ever-increasing pressure, required to hear a patient’s symptoms, diagnose, and prescribe treatment, all while entering this information into the medical records database, and all within an imposed time limit of fifteen minutes, or less.

The American people are being ripped off by their health services and insurance companies. Somebody is making an enormous profit. It could even be considered racketeering.

Perhaps it’s time someone blew the whistle on America’s medical mafia.

Three absurdities in one day is a lot, even for the BBC News, but there they were staring us in the face this morning, jaw-dropping examples of the crassness of the human species when elevated to any form of authority.

The world is teetering on the precipice of global warming, politicians are burying their heads deep into the sand while pretending they have the matter in hand, and China bans electric scooters and segways from the roads of two major cities. The above image clearly displays the irresponsible attitude of Chinese politicians, their hypocrisy in paying lip service to the containment of global warming while banning environmentally-friendly transportation on the grounds of “safety”. The woman in the image is forced to wear a mask because of the pollution caused by China’s vast number of cars, yet will be barred from doing her small part for the environment.^[1]

Meanwhile, Canadian officialdom is publicising its inhumanity to its fellow man by forcing a couple married for sixty-two years to live in separate care homes. Here is a perfect example of how human beings with power over people rapidly become desensitized to the needs of those they control.

Forcing two people apart who have lived together and loved one another for any length of time is cruel and inhumane. After sixty-two years it should be a criminal offence punishable by public flogging. Fraser Health Authority is the power holding sway over this couple. The key people in power are a Michael Marchbank, Arun Garg, and Vivian Giglio. Their motto is: ‘Better health. Best in health care’. If this is the best healthcare they can provide to their customers then their motto should be: ‘Screw you. We’re alright, Jack’.^[2]

The third – though possibly not the last – absurdity to surface from the pages of the BBC News website today concerns our old friend, Amazon. Apart from rumours of ruthless employee-bashing, Amazon has in the past provided a service most of us have partaken of to a greater or lesser degree. It’s also done wonders for the profits of companies like UPS, Fedex, and cardboard box manufacturers worldwide.

Amazon’s latest idea is surely one offering too far: Amazon Dash. Soon we’ll be able to purchase Dash buttons for many household products: toilet rolls, washing detergent, toothpaste…the list is expanding rapidly. Running short of condoms? Just press your Dash Durex button and a packet will be ‘dashed’ to you within twenty-four hours. (Don’t worry, lads, you won’t have to keep it in your pants for that long once Amazon gets its drones off the ground). The system’s been in use in the U.S. (where else!) since March last year and is catching on rapidly.

With major manufacturers all keen to get in on the act it’s surely one more step on the road to complete corporate domination of our lives; lives that are already rapidly becoming controlled by social media, Google advertising, and huge conglomerates like Apple, Microsoft, and the like. Never mind that we can buy a product much cheaper at the local supermarket, why go out if it can come to you?^[3]

It’s all part of taking control away from us and putting it in the hands of those who hold the power. Whether it’s getting to work or to the shops on an environmentally-friendly vehicle, living out our remaining years together with our life partner, or choosing if the condom we use is made by Durex or Trojan, those choices should be ours as a right, not imposed on us by the inhumanity of governments, health authorities, or corporations.

^{[1] “Beijing and Shanghai ban electric scooters and segways on roads” BBC, August 31st 2016}

^{[2] “Canadian couple forced to live apart after 62 years” BBC, August 26th 2016}

^{[3] “Amazon Dash – who wants to live in a push-button world?” BBC, August 31st 2016}