LONDON — Demand for free medicines in the US has increased sharply following the 2008 economic crisis, highlighting continued difficulties by Americans in gaining access to medical care. Millions have lost their medical benefits along with their jobs in the downturn, underscoring the challenge for President Barack Obama in overhauling healthcare after signing reforms into law last month. Organisations helping people find free drugs have reported increases of up to 50 per cent in requests in recent months, while pharmaceutical companies say they have expanded donations through ‘patient assistance programmes by typically 15 to 25 per cent. Rich Sagall, who created NeedyMeds.org, a phone and web-based clearing house near Boston helping patients find free medicines, says he is receiving 14,000 inquiries a day, up from 10,000 in late 2008. ‘We’re exceedingly busy. I’m upset that this many people need access. There’s definitely more need and more queries. US pharmaceutical companies provide some medicines free to many poorer Americans through ‘patient assistance programmes. Since launching its Partnership for Prescription Assistance to co-ordinate these programmes in 2005, PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry trade association, says it has provided 6m patients with $16bn (ââ¬11.8bn, ã10.5bn) of drugs valued at wholesale prices, […]
We hear a lot about how to forestall the effects of climate change. Lower your carbon footprints by eating less meat, flying less, changing your light bulbs, and so on until your brain malfunctions. All of this is good. But what if it’s all not enough? It’s possible that if we don’t get our act together, we’ll find ourselves in our worst-case scenario, with sea levels rising beyond our control. I’m not necessarily talking ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ out of control, but enough to drive people out of uninhabitable zones and result in an economic mess. According to the EPA, higher temperatures are expected raise sea levels by expanding ocean water, melting mountain glaciers and ice caps, and causing portions of Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets to melt. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the global average sea level will rise between 0.6 and 2 feet in the next century, depending on how things play out. It’s a grim prospect, and not at all an implausible one, as it’s happening to island nations around the world– Tuvalu, the Carteret Islands and the Maldives are already feeling the effects of rising sea levels. And island […]
WASHINGTON - They heeded a pamphleteer’s call for ‘manly opposition to the machinations of tyranny’ - the 60 American colonists who stormed Griffin’s Wharf and emptied 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. And with that, a revolution brewed. Now, more than two centuries later, come the angry throngs of the modern-day tea party. They’ve gotten the nation’s attention. Can they foment their own revolution? Not yet. The Associated Press reviewed tea party operations in almost every state, interviewing dozens of local organizers as well as Democratic and Republican strategists to produce a portrait of the movement to date - and its prospects for tilting this November’s elections. The bottom line: Though amplifying widespread voter anger at the political establishment, the tea party movement is unlikely to dramatically affect the congressional elections - unless their local affiliates forge alliances with Republican candidates. And how likely is that? Republican operatives look at the possibility of GOP-tea party collaborations with some anxiety, and many tea party activists frankly don’t want to see them. Born of protest and populism, the United States is a nation of movements - people galvanized by causes, summoned with the latest technologies. […]
The White House is confident that a financial regulatory reform bill will soon pass the Senate. I’m not so sure, given the opposition of Republican leaders to any real reform. But in any case, how good is the legislation on the table, the bill put together by Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut? Not good enough. It’s a good-faith effort to do what needs to be done, but it would create a system highly dependent on the wisdom and good intentions of government officials. And as the history of the last decade demonstrates, trusting in the quality of officials can be dangerous to the economy’s health. Now, it’s impossible to devise a truly foolproof regulatory regime - anyone who believes otherwise is underestimating the power of foolishness. But you can try to create a system that’s relatively fool-resistant. Unfortunately, the Dodd bill doesn’t do that. As I argued in my last column, while the problem of ‘too big to fail has gotten most of the attention - and while big banks deserve all the opprobrium they’re getting - the core problem with our financial system isn’t the size of the largest financial institutions. It is, instead, the fact […]
KIEL — Considering its 85 tonnes and its potential to shape the future of maritime travel, the launch of Türanor was a surprisingly reserved affair. The world’s largest solar-powered boat made a gentle plop as it was lowered by a huge crane on to the waters of the Kiel firth in northern Germany today, and triggered the polite applause of onlookers – mainly fishermen and shipyard workers. ‘We’ve made it, she’s safe, and she floats,’ whispered its owner, Immo Ströher, with tears welling in his eyes. But the real challenges for the gleaming white catamaran still lie ahead, as its makers seek to use it to prove that the sun can fuel our world. Next year, after an intense testing phase, Türanor – the name, inspired by JRR Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, means ‘power of the sun’ – will embark on her maiden voyage, a round-the-world trip during which her two-man crew will attempt to chase the sun in order to capture as much available solar power as possible and navigate her at an average speed of 7.5 knots. Ströher’s granddaughter christened her today by smashing a bottle of champagne against her teak deck, and pronouncing: […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
