Food Safety Issues Again
Ian @ September 29, 2008 # No Comment Yet
The Harper Policies of self regulation continue to plague the consumer. Now it is salmonella that is hitting the unsuspecting consumer, while Harper pushes for even more deregulation of the very industries that are poisoning people. It is about money, not about your safety, yet Harper and his Conservatives belief that these people can regulate themselves, that they are better equipped than an independent government agency is, to insure proper health guidelines are carried out. This mantra of self regulation is gong to cause an epidemic, but don’t worry, the industry will find the cause, report what happened, how they have fixed it, and everything will be fine. Course there may be a few dead consumers, but that’s okay, they probably didn’t vote Conservative, right Gerry Ritz? I am sure he has a lot of one liners ready, for the coming outbreaks, after all, it is just a joke to him and his boss, Stephen Harper. Their only concern is how much taxpayer money they can funnel to these irresponsible corporations.
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Maple Leaf Foods
Ian @ September 17, 2008 # No Comment Yet
How does the consumer know when they are being told the truth? A company has a vested interest in coming up with what the problem was, and how they have fixed it, but is it the truth, and how do we know it is? This is why self regulation is wrong, when it comes to food and our safety. Yet that is the direction the Harper Government has gone, and the result has been increased food contamination. Worse, those who contaminate the food, are responsible for finding the cause, and fixing it. Somehow that doesn’t give me confidence in their product, nor should it. We need stronger laws, independent inspections and inquiries, to insure that what went wrong, is as stated, and that how it is fixed, is really fixed. If we identify the wrong source of contamination, it only means more illness, more recalls will happen. And it is already showing.
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Harper Bush Policies on Health
Ian @ September 17, 2008 # No Comment Yet
The Canadian Medical Association Journal has released an article that describes how the Harper Government has moved from Government Inspection, to Self Regulation for many industries, including the food industry. Now I can understand why there has been a rise in contaminated meats & foods in Canada, as the inmates now police themselves. Harper has quietly dismantled the protection all Canadians believe they had, when it came to food safety. To follow George Bush’s dismantling of Government Protection Services, is a risk not just for the food we eat, but for our very health. He has put us at risk, to appease the Corporate Elite, to insure they make more money, at our expense. How is this a responsible approach to government?
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They Play Cards, He Dies
Ian @ August 22, 2008 # No Comment Yet
Why have we forgotten the simple golden rule, do onto others as you would have them do unto you. Nurses play cards, ignore the needs of their patients, and one dies. Yet they blame poor working conditions, being overworked, yet they had time to dance, to play cards. Seems today more and more hide behind the title, of being a so called professional, instead of standing up and doing the job they chose. People are hired to look after sick people, they weren’t hired to not feed them, to not check on their health while under their care. That is abuse, plain and simple, but instead of filing charges, they give the facility time to make up a plan to correct the issue? That is so called government oversight? I call it bullshit.
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Mutant Salads
Ian @ August 22, 2008 # No Comment Yet
Nuke It and hey, no more germs, no more bacteria, no more sickness from eating fresh food. Least that is what the FDA wants people to believe, as it approves the plan to radiate lettuce & spinach. Course meat, mainly hamburger, is already been radiated for years, and look at how well that is working. I mean all those millions of pounds of hamburger recalled for having ecoli, well that is nothing to fret about. Teething pains, but hey, they got it right for lettuce. And no, dont’ worry if that head of lettuce glows in the dark, least you know it won’t kill you, that all those nasty bugs are dead. Okay not all, not even really any, just that they are weakened, and shouldn’t pose a problem. Like that is nice comforting thought, isn’t it? And to think some say the FDA doesn’t care about people.
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FDA and Your Safety
Ian @ August 19, 2008 # No Comment Yet
The FDA wants a stronger warning on the labels for Byetta, a diabetic drug that is widely used for Diabetes treatment. Despite several deaths, and a growing number of serious side effects being developed among users, all the FDA wants is a stronger warning issued with the drug. Like what the heck is that about? Protecting the consumer, or covering the fat asses of the Drug Companies who make the stuff? Seems the FDA is a bit more concerned about their corporate clients, than the people they serve. Why does that not surprise me, anymore?
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Safe Injection Sites
Ian @ August 19, 2008 # No Comment Yet
Like his hero George Bush, the entire Harper regime knows only how to attack, not debate, not discuss. To them, a drug user is a wasted citizen, not worth their help. The attack by the Health Minister on the ethics of doctors who support safe injection sites shows the mentality of the Harper Government, in its bid to stay in power. Using fear, they attack those whose job it is to provide proper health care, irrespective of politics. These sites aren’t pretty, but they safe lives. They help contain the spread of infectious disease, by insuring needles are clean, not contaminated. They provide a laison with those who can be best served, before the infections get out of hand. It saves not only lives, but money too. Yet instead of embracing it, the Harper Government wastes taxpayer money to try and shut these sites down, because George Bush & his Republican Conservatives oppose helping anyone that isn’t part of the Fortune 500 or some fanatical religious sect. And like a good toady, Harper is quite willing to follow along.
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Buying Prescription Drugs Online
Ian @ July 10, 2008 # No Comment Yet
While the figures are amazing, it boggles the mind that anyone would consider purchasing hard core drugs online. The risk of getting ripped off is just too much, never mind the risk of it being a set up. Though given how the Government works, maybe it isn’t such a risk. After all, they can’t find out how over a 1000 people got poisoned with Salmonella, so how can they find out if you bought some hardcore drugs? Then how about the Credit Card companies, that allow these Online Drug Dealers to process your purchase. Like they can’t stop it from happening?
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Pop A Pill, little child.
Ian @ July 8, 2008 # One Comment
As long as they make a profit, as long as they keep on racking up the big bucks, the Corporate World will continue to push solutions that are stop gaps. Drugs for kids as young as eight, instead of ending the commercials pushing Super Sized meals. Now Doctors want kids to take pills, that boost the profits for the Drug Companies, but what do they do to Kids? Do they create a dependency on drugs more than ever, or do they solve the fat problem? Is the answer to obesity in drugs, or is it in proper diet, exercise, and education? Do we simply prefer to pop a pill rather than battle with Junior to eat his veggies, and go out and play? Is popping a pill really the answer, or is it simply more convenient?
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Saving Money & Health Care
Ian @ December 26, 2007 # No Comment Yet
A novel approach to saving money, while maintaining high care standards seems to actually be working. The novel concept is to work with the patient, in assisting in their health care through monitoring and providing detailed understandable instructions. Isn’t it about time that Doctors stopped pretending they were GOD and actually worked as healers? While this approach rewards those groups financially, shouldn’t the concept of providing the best care be already in place?
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Parents Be Careful
Ian @ November 20, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Interesting to watch the ‘acting head’ of the CPSC advise parents to be more vigilant. After all it is her agency that is supposed to be responsible, that is supposed to insure that what goes on the shelves at toy stories is safe. I suppose that when you are understaffed and incapable of using common sense, it is a good idea to pass the buck onto the parents. After all, it isn’t like she lets those free trips to trade shows influence her decision or whether or not to inspect the toys. It is just the price of doing business when your department is understaffed. Of course asking for more money to hire inspectors never crossed her mind, just to make sure there was enough funds to cover the bonuses she and other executives get is what counts.
This is a broken government, and looking at the choice of potential successors, it doesn’t look like this broken government will ever be fixed. After all, that would require commitment, and honesty.
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Rising Rates of STDs
Ian @ November 13, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Is the record rise of some STDs due to better reporting, better testing methods, or is it a result of poor education on sex education? Frankly I think it is both, and worse the drug treatments are slowly being outdated. As our bodies become immune to treatment methods, is this a sign of impending epidemics?
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Generic or Brand Name?
Ian @ November 2, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In an effort to improve their profits, Drug Companies are offering rebates, cash incentives, lower prices to Pharmacies to carry their brands. Yet these reductions aren’t being passed on to the consumer or the government. Seems that we need to start looking at just how much the drug prices are legitimate, how much are just padding for higher corporate returns.
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Last Minute Recalls
Ian @ November 1, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Did you brush your teeth today? Maybe you used that cheap toothpaste from the discount store, or maybe you just put some of those fake Halloween teeth in instead. I mean one had poison mixed in, the other high concentrates of lead, so about the same. Yet as the product is recalled at the 11th hour, it is worth noting that the lead tainted teeth have been sold for nearly TWO YEARS, without anyone being sick. Well, reported as being sick.
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Recalls - Beef & Other Perishables
Ian @ October 28, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Another food recall, that has me wondering if Government is fully addressing the issue of Public Safety? I mean a recall for beef that might have been contaminated is one thing, but from possible contamination in June & August and the recall comes out at the end of October? That seems suspicious in itself, and makes me wonder, are Government Agencies ignoring their primary obligation to us, the consumer, in place of Corporate Needs?
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