Some nasty piece of work has broken my photo site. I think it might have something to do with my POV on the Armeni*n g*nocide… Facebook groups’ll get you in trouble every time.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
It’s hard to get quality reporting here, but it seems that the flooding in Tabasco was exacerbated by mismanagement of a hydroelectric dam. The area is prone to flooding, but it used to come up bit by bit, giving people time to get to higher ground. The dam held the water back until it had build up to an unmanageable level, then released it in a gush so as to prevent damage to itself.
These things are always sadder when they were preventable.
What I want to know now is why the US government had pledged only $300k in aid, when Mexico donated $1m to the Katrina fund?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
I paid $58 the other day for a packet of 20 Celebrex tablets to help my ankles get back to normal. $58. In Australia it’s less than half that for a packet three times as big, and here the minimum wage is $5 a day.
The overall standard of medical care is quite distressing. After a week here I was still suffering shocking jetlag, and asked a recommended doctor to prescribe me something to help me get to sleep early for a couple of nights to recalibrate myself. I discovered at the chemist that he’s given me hardcore antidepressants, a type that are usually only used in clinically acute situations.
The orthopaedic guy I saw about my ankles sorted me out with some great custom made innersoles, but he tried to get me to do bouncy stretches — something that hasn’t been recommended in Australia since the late 70s.
Most disturbing of all is that the antidepressant doctor told one of my teachers that as she was not sexually active, the pain and swelling in her breast could not possibly be cancer. That’s right. If you have a family history of breast cancer, don’t bother with mammograms and self-screening, just take a vow of celibacy!
I’m angry that people here don’t have access to what they need to take care of their health, and that the pharmaceutical monopolies, propped up by the government, make even simple and common medicines too expensive for all but the richest. I’m frustrated that the prevailing culture here is that the ‘Doctor is God’, and health services consumers don’t receive the kind of respect and info they’re entitled to.
Grrr.
