Swine Flu Treatment and Pharma Companies

Just like popular fake illnesses such as mad cow disease, anthrax, bird flu and the HIV/AIDS conspiracy, the pharmaceutical lobby is now trying to sell 'Swine Flu' as a 'pandemic' and 'global threat' to governments, media and the gullible public, the world over.

According to the World Health Organization: "Every winter, tens of millions of people get the flu. Most are only ill and out of work for a week, yet the elderly are at a higher risk of death from the illness. We know the worldwide death toll exceeds a few hundred thousand people a year, but even in developed countries the numbers are uncertain, because medical authorities don't usually verify who actually died of influenza and who died of a flu-like illness".

Even healthy people can be affected by flu, and serious problems from influenza can happen at any age. People over 50 years old, very young children and people of any age with chronic medical conditions are more likely to get complications from influenza, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus and ear infections. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and about 36,000 people die every year from flu related complications in the USA, itself. The symptoms of this regular human flu include body aches, fever, cold, cough, shivering and teary eyes and reddened face. Strangely, these symptoms are exactly the same as defined for Swine Flu.

What is the Swine Flu Hoax?

Varying media reports have stated that around 80 - 150 people are 'suspected' to have died of Swine Flu in Mexico while a total of 1000 - 1500 people are 'suspected' to be affected by Swine Flu in Mexico, USA, Canada and Europe. Use of words such as 'alarmed, deadly, pandemic, scare, global concern, worry' and so on are being liberally used in television reports, online articles and newspapers. These words are actually designed to create interesting stories, increase viewership/ readership and keep the audience hooked to increase revenues out of advertising. However, in actuality, it only serves only to create a false sense of hysteria over nothing and fatten the coffers of pharmaceutical companies.

Top Scientists such as Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, have admitted to the Associate Press that -

- Scientists don't know for sure how Swine Flu is spread.
- It is a mystery why people are dying in Mexico. No one really knows just how many people in Mexico are dying of the Swine Flu strain, or how many have it.
- Only a fraction of the suspected deaths have been tested and confirmed as Swine Flu, and some initially suspected cases were caused by something else.


Treatment of Swine Flu

According to various media reports, Swine Flu, just like Bird Flu can be treated by two drugs - Tamiflu and Relenza. As the symptoms of Swine Flu, just like Avian Flu, are similar to regular human influenza, it is quite easy to bracket many cases of regular flu as being that of the dangerous 'Swine Flu' disease. Pharmaceutical company lobbies continuously work with health officials, the media and government officials to influence public opinion about the seriousness of this 'disease' . This is done to increase public spending on their so called special 'drugs' for combating the 'virus'.

Tamiflu, the commercial name of Oseltamivir, is an antiretroviral drug used to treat common flu (Influenza Virus A and B). It is an oral treatment developed by Gilead and manufactured by Hoffman-La-Roche (Roche). The company estimates that more than 50 million people around the world have been treated with this drug. The media attention, mass publicity and lobbying that follows reports of diseases such as Avian Flu and Swine Flu have also resulted in governments, corporations and private individuals stockpiling Tamiflu in different parts of the world.

Relenza is the commercial name and only type of Zanamivir, a neuraminidase inhibitor developed for the treatment of Influenza A and B. It is an inhalable drug currently marketed by GlaxoSmithKline. After some media reports of this having greater effectiveness in combating 'Bird Flu' compared to its main competitor Tamiflu, Germany purchased 1.7 million doses of the drug. The total sale of Relenza comprises only one percent of the growing flu drug market, basically due to faulty marketing policies. It is promoted by the medical fraternity as a drug that 'relieves' Swine Flu.

India had purchased a stockpile of one million doses of Tamiflu, when the Bird Flu Hoax was at its zenith. The Health Secretary of India, Mr. Naresh Dayal has said, ``These drugs have a shelf live of five years. So we may increase our buffer stock''. This means that after every five years, the old medicines have to be discarded and new ones need to be purchased in its place.

To promote their 'newly improved formulas', pharma companies often engineer fake 'epidemics' to scare the public and ensure strong sale of their drugs in the panic that follows. They are also able to charge unreasonably higher prices than before, because of the staged lack of availability of the drug and the increased public demand arising out of the 'fearful' reports in the media. This is exactly what is happening in the case of Swine Flu.

The current share prices of companies that manufacture drugs and testing kits to treat Swine Flu such as Gilead and Glaxo Smithkline have seen a sharp increase. The companies have been quick to claim that Swine Flu is 'sensitive' to their drugs, to spur further demand. Top financial analysts have said that assuming the stockpile of drugs will be replenished by most countries, it is estimated that Tamiflu will make up to $388 million in sales and Gilead will make around $70 million in royalties. If the outbreak escalates into a pandemic, a further increase in pharmaceutical stock prices, driven by retail demand for the drug is expected.

Feeding on fear to make big bucks....unfortunately, this is how the big pharmaceutical companies really work!

Movie Reviews - March and April

It has been an unbelievably long time since I have posted a movie review of a Bollywood film, even though I have seen quite a few of them. Today, I sneaked out some quality keyboard time in office while my colleagues were attending a training programme and wrote out movie reviews of some films that I have watched over the past two months.

Movie Reviews of Films

Raaz - The Mystery Continues - Horror - 6/10 - Starring Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut and Jackie Shroff. Emraan Hashmi plays Prithvi, an artist with a gift for making paintings about the future of Nandini, a model played by Kangana Ranaut. He attempts to warn her about some 'horror' paintings that he has made about her.....and from here on starts the saga of dark lobbies, hidden lighting, gothic decor, sharp instruments, blood and screaming.

The songs of 'Raaz - The Mystery Continues' were good. Acting was better than most acting shown in Bollywood movies nowadays. Storyline was action packed and interesting while direction was not bad. The line, 'Tum Ashudh Ho, Sadh Chuke Ho', from the movie, which was written on the walls by possessed characters before they kill themselves, is something that will stick in the minds of viewers for some time to come.


Aa Dekhen Zara - Action/ Paranormal - 2/10 - Starring Neil Nitish Mukesh and Bipasha Basu. The movie is about a photographer who inherits a camera that takes futuristic photographs of the subject or person photographed. The movie was quite slow paced and the director was unable to capitalize on making moments of suspense and action look exciting. Neil Nitin Mukesh has a cunningly sharp look and was badly cast as the innocent photographer. I watched it up to the scene where the magic camera starts taking black photos of the subject. Later, the movie was unable to hold my attention.

Golmaal Returns - Comedy - 4/10 - Starring Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitley, Tusshar Kapoor and Amrita Arora. I don't remember just how bad 'Golmaal 1' sucked, but this installment seemed to be a wee bit better, basically because of Shreyas Talpade's expressions. The movie is a slapstick sort of cheap comedy with lots of gay jokes about the life of four guys. The story revolves around Kareena Kapoor's character of a soap watching wife who suspects her husband (Ajay Devgan) of infidelity. He in turn attempts to prove her wrong, with the help of his friends. Golmaal Returns was mostly irritating, but won some laughs in certain parts - like the Anthony Gonsalves Scene. It is an ok timepass sort of film to watch on a hot, boring, lonely Sunday afternoon...if you have absolutely nothing to do.

Delhi 6 - Drama - 1/10 - Starring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor. Just like all Abhishek Bachchan films minus John Abraham, this too was a damp squib. The story is about the visit of an NRI to his ancestral home in India.The narrative was snail paced, unrealistic and boring. Abhishek Bachchan's fake foreign accent and 'strolling on sets' acting sucked big time. The music, sets and look of the film were very old fashioned. Costumes especially, were totally wrong - eg. Delhi women usually wear salwar kameez and not saris, Abhishek Bachan's clothes didn't look 'Made in USA' whereas Sonam Kapoor's hippie look was just so not Delhi-ish. Those scenes about the cow giving birth, monkey man and ramlila were so lame.... it's a shame they were included in the film. Gosh, what was the director smoking???

Billu Barber - Drama - 2/10 - Starring Irfan Khan, Lara Dutta and Shahrukh Khan. The story is about a village barber's attempts to attract the attention of a filmstar - who was once his childhood friend, when the movie star visits his village for the shooting of a film. The village part of the movie and Irfan Khan's acting was realistic. However, the movie soon moved into avoidable melodrama, and reached it's peak when Shah Rukh Khan gave a tearful boring speech about his friend 'Billu' at the end. Songs were hummable. King Khan should have stayed out of this bit part role of a movie.

DevD - Drama - 2/10 - Starring Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin. This remake of the Bengali classic Devdas was really vulgar and crass. True, it may reflect a certain type of reality which, to my good fortune I have never experienced. However, I was so embarrassed watching the scenes and abusive dialogue in the first 10 minutes, that I just gave up watching this film. Songs, however, were refreshingly different. I forwarded the movie to the end, and saw that 'Dev' does not die, but rides merrily into the sunset on his bike with Chanda, his Chandramukhi. I was really disappointed coz I really wanted to see a loser guy like Devdas suffer and tragically meet his end...

Have you watched any of these movies? What did you think of them??

Accupressure Chart and Diagrams for Feet and Hands

If you are not sure how to use an accupressure chart or accupressure diagrams for you feet and hands, then this blog post shows you exactly how.

According to the ancient science of accupressure, the main organs of your body have pressure points on the bottom of your feet and palms. These pressure points are sensitive to sensory touch, and if massaged can lead to relief from various ailments affecting these organs. For example, the accupressure sensory pressure point for the heart is located on the left foot. This means that soft massage at this acupressure point can help cure ailments and treat diseases of the heart without the use of modern medicine.




The full theory of accupressure may be found in detailed accupressure charts, diagrams, studies or textbooks. The following accupressure chart and diagrams display the pressure points with pictures of organs which they are connected to. The nerves connected to these organs terminate here and so the use of soft massage pressure at these points help to cure ailments of the respective organ.

These pressure points should be pressed regularly to keep your organs activated at all times. Hence, it is important that we spend at least part of the day walking barefoot so that these pressure points are naturally massaged. We should also try doing some manual labour with our hands, such as washing the car or polishing a table top so that the pressure points in our hands are naturally massaged. This helps ensure a healthy and strong body. It also reduces stress and helps build up muscles naturally.

So, keep walking...it is the best workout!!

The Fast And The Furious Part 4 - Movie Review

The Fast And The Furious Part 4 

Action - 6/10  Starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Paul Walker. 

I saw this movie at Plaza Cinema, Connaught Place. I had last been here sometime in the 90's with my mom and siblings to see 'Chamatkar', the SRK starrer. The cinema looks quite posh after it's revamp, with deep red carpets and a medium sized stage for movie premieres to be held. The only negative was the number of stairs that had to be climbed to reach the Plaza Cinema lounge on the second floor. The cinema was houseful.

The Fast And The Furious Part4 begins slickly, with Vin Diesel's character Dominic Toretto, his girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodrigues) and some pals, now international criminals, stealing oil tankers on the highways of the Dominican Republic. Later in the movie, Dominic's sister informs him that his girlfriend Letty has been killed in Los Angeles, California. Basically, the movie is all about Vin Diesel's character finding her killer and seeking revenge.

I thought the action scenes in the movie were too cool, especially the car chases, coz I'm a big fan of car racing games such as 'Need For Speed'. I couldn't understand the Spanish bits in The Fast And The Furious - Part 4, and without subtitles it was a bit irritating. Also, the pub scenes in which they show girls kissing each other - was risque. It totally put me off. I had to work hard to erase the disgusting images from my mind so that I could continue to enjoy the remaining car chase scenes in the movie. 

Compared to the previous films, The Fast And The Furious - Part 4 was much better, especially over Part 2 and 3. However, Vin Diesel seems to have lost some of his cool...and is looking quite bulky, sort of like Dr.Evil from the Austin Powers movies.

Tackling Obscene Crank Callers

Tring Tring....Tring Tring....Usually, I would have excitedly picked up the phone to speak to the voice on the other end, even if that person was just a wrong number or a telecaller. This time I was terrified.

I recognized the number flashing on my mobile phone screen. It was the number of the same person who had been bothering me over the past few weeks. I had threatened to call the police, but he was quite brash and unconcerned about it. My father had spoken to him, my brother had yelled at him and my boyfriend had threatened him, all to no avail.

I was too scared to pick up the phone. Earlier, when I had answered it, this psycho kept asking me questions in a threatening voice and spooking me out. I had put the phone in silent mode, so that the ringing would not disturb my colleagues in office. I quietly watched the screen light of the phone flash. This psycho crank caller was just not giving up. That evening, he called me fourteen times.


How To Deal With Obscene Psycho Crank Callers

I asked for advice on how to handle and stop these obscene crank phone calls. Most people told me to ignore it, they said the harassing caller would just stop calling after some time.

• My mother warned me not to call the cops. She said that if a case is filed, it can drag on forever. Also, some psychos just want you to file a case, just so they get a chance to meet you and see you regularly.
  
• My friends advised me to change my number, but I did not want to lose all my contacts on my mobile phone.
  
• I decided to wait a bit. However, the harassing crank caller simply refused to stop calling me, even after nearly three weeks of ignoring his calls. I was really confused and stressed out.
  
• Then my sister encouraged me to call the police, as it was the last and only option available.

The next time the psycho crank caller rang, I answered the phone, but kept silent. There was silence at the other end for around 5 minutes, after which the psycho caller hung up the phone in frustration.


Getting The Police To Help Tackle Harassing Phone Calls

I mustered the courage and dialed 100. The lady at the police call center was very helpful and seemed to have received many calls from stressed out women like me. She gave me a special number of the Delhi Crime Branch - 27894455. This is a 24 hour helpline of a cell specifically constituted to deal with obscene callers who regularly try various numbers to harass women. Women may also forward obscene test messages (SMS) and multimedia messages (MMS) to 9911135446 or email details to acp-sit-dl@nic.in.

With a bit more confidence, I dialled 27894455. A male police officer picked up and I told him about the problem caller. He asked for information such as the phone numbers called from, duration of calls, type of conversation spoken, my reaction to the calls and some personal details.

The Delhi Police officer told me he would call the psycho caller and speak to him. Within 5 minutes, the police officer called back. He told me he had spoken to the psycho caller and told him that stringent action would be taken if he repeated this behavior. The cop also gave me a complaint number and asked me to call back if the psycho caller ever bothered me again.

I am very relieved to say that I didn't have to call Delhi Police Crime Branch again. The best thing about this system is that my identity was kept secret and not revealed to the obscene caller. Also, I did not have to visit the Police Station to file a complaint and answer weird questions about what exactly was said, which would have been quite embarrassing. Learning from this experience, I would advise all women bothered by lewd and obscene calls to use this as the first rather than the last option. It certainly helps avoid a lot of stress and unnecessary bother.

Have you received obscene crank phone calls, text messages or email? How did you handle the situation?

Other Useful Articles

• Tips On Dealing With A Psycho Stalker (How I handled the situation)