What will the vaccine cost the individual and who will get it? Well, as we know, the dense and the bought believe these things are matters to be settled between individuals and their pharmaceutical companies.(Photo: Floris Van Cauwelaert/flickr/cc)
Russia Accused of a Plot to Steal Vaccine Research!
There is simply no reason to believe that reliance on the search for corporate profit represents anything like a sensible strategy for dealing with problems affecting the entire globe.
The Russian hackers are coming! Again! They're about as bad as capitalists as they were as communists, ain't they? What now? There it was in the headline: Russia accused of a plot to steal vaccine research. Britain's National Cyber Security Center director denounced the "despicable acts" and a Silicon Valley intelligence analyst warned, "The whole pandemic is absolutely riddled with spies." Any surprise that China and Iran are also accused of the like? The motive behind this hacking of Britain, Canada, and of course the U.S.? Apparently the Russians are trying improve their own Covid-19 vaccine research and avoid vaccine dependence on Western countries! What do we pay the National Security Agency for if they can't stop from the Russians from improving their Covid-19 vaccine?
We ask ourselves on a daily basis what the post-pandemic world will look like - if, in fact, there is to be such a thing as a post-pandemic world. Dare we dare hope that this situation could actually have an impact on global intelligence, that is real intelligence in people's minds, not the NSA/Silicon Valley kind?
We do know that even when it comes to matters of the nation's health, Washington's dense and bought have remained steadfastly dense and bought, maintaining their opposition to covering the entire nation with health insurance, to this very day. Could we hope that a global pandemic might be enough to shake the consciousness and/or conscience of a few of them? Unfortunately, a lot of those folks are just not that much into the rest of the world, except maybe bombing them.
But perhaps if we will substitute invaders from another star system for the pandemic, the absurdity of the plot of this science fiction film we're actually living though might stand out more clearly.
The threat arrives, seemingly from nowhere. Do the earthlings unite? No, they argue about who's going to pay and who's going to get protected first. "There's money involved here. We're not about to let those damned Russian commun - er - capitalists get the benefit of our hard earned dollars." Meanwhile, the invaders know and care nothing about this money thing and they roll over these foolish, bickering earthlings.
Back in the world without the space invaders, I don't know exactly who's making out among those dastardly Russians, but there appear to be at least five major American pharmaceutical corporations in the race to produce a vaccine. Three of them are receiving government research funding. Two of those have pledged to do it on a non-profit basis and I suppose that's something - even though corporations are well known for crossing their fingers when claiming to do anything on a basis other than profit. The other government-funded corporation explicitly declined such a pledge. And the other two companies are going entirely free market. What will the vaccine cost the individual and who will get it? Well, as we know, the dense and the bought believe these things are matters to be settled between individuals and their pharmaceutical companies.
The call for an alternative to replace capitalism has generally, and understandably, focused on the inability of a system based on profit to treat everyone fairly. But there is, in a sense, an even deeper argument - competence. There is simply no reason to believe that reliance on the search for corporate profit represents anything like a sensible strategy for dealing with problems affecting the entire globe.
The pandemic has already been a teachable moment, that has already stretched to a teachable semester, for millions around our globe. Whether the dense and the bought of the world's capitals will learn much of anything remains to be seen.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
The Russian hackers are coming! Again! They're about as bad as capitalists as they were as communists, ain't they? What now? There it was in the headline: Russia accused of a plot to steal vaccine research. Britain's National Cyber Security Center director denounced the "despicable acts" and a Silicon Valley intelligence analyst warned, "The whole pandemic is absolutely riddled with spies." Any surprise that China and Iran are also accused of the like? The motive behind this hacking of Britain, Canada, and of course the U.S.? Apparently the Russians are trying improve their own Covid-19 vaccine research and avoid vaccine dependence on Western countries! What do we pay the National Security Agency for if they can't stop from the Russians from improving their Covid-19 vaccine?
We ask ourselves on a daily basis what the post-pandemic world will look like - if, in fact, there is to be such a thing as a post-pandemic world. Dare we dare hope that this situation could actually have an impact on global intelligence, that is real intelligence in people's minds, not the NSA/Silicon Valley kind?
We do know that even when it comes to matters of the nation's health, Washington's dense and bought have remained steadfastly dense and bought, maintaining their opposition to covering the entire nation with health insurance, to this very day. Could we hope that a global pandemic might be enough to shake the consciousness and/or conscience of a few of them? Unfortunately, a lot of those folks are just not that much into the rest of the world, except maybe bombing them.
But perhaps if we will substitute invaders from another star system for the pandemic, the absurdity of the plot of this science fiction film we're actually living though might stand out more clearly.
The threat arrives, seemingly from nowhere. Do the earthlings unite? No, they argue about who's going to pay and who's going to get protected first. "There's money involved here. We're not about to let those damned Russian commun - er - capitalists get the benefit of our hard earned dollars." Meanwhile, the invaders know and care nothing about this money thing and they roll over these foolish, bickering earthlings.
Back in the world without the space invaders, I don't know exactly who's making out among those dastardly Russians, but there appear to be at least five major American pharmaceutical corporations in the race to produce a vaccine. Three of them are receiving government research funding. Two of those have pledged to do it on a non-profit basis and I suppose that's something - even though corporations are well known for crossing their fingers when claiming to do anything on a basis other than profit. The other government-funded corporation explicitly declined such a pledge. And the other two companies are going entirely free market. What will the vaccine cost the individual and who will get it? Well, as we know, the dense and the bought believe these things are matters to be settled between individuals and their pharmaceutical companies.
The call for an alternative to replace capitalism has generally, and understandably, focused on the inability of a system based on profit to treat everyone fairly. But there is, in a sense, an even deeper argument - competence. There is simply no reason to believe that reliance on the search for corporate profit represents anything like a sensible strategy for dealing with problems affecting the entire globe.
The pandemic has already been a teachable moment, that has already stretched to a teachable semester, for millions around our globe. Whether the dense and the bought of the world's capitals will learn much of anything remains to be seen.
The Russian hackers are coming! Again! They're about as bad as capitalists as they were as communists, ain't they? What now? There it was in the headline: Russia accused of a plot to steal vaccine research. Britain's National Cyber Security Center director denounced the "despicable acts" and a Silicon Valley intelligence analyst warned, "The whole pandemic is absolutely riddled with spies." Any surprise that China and Iran are also accused of the like? The motive behind this hacking of Britain, Canada, and of course the U.S.? Apparently the Russians are trying improve their own Covid-19 vaccine research and avoid vaccine dependence on Western countries! What do we pay the National Security Agency for if they can't stop from the Russians from improving their Covid-19 vaccine?
We ask ourselves on a daily basis what the post-pandemic world will look like - if, in fact, there is to be such a thing as a post-pandemic world. Dare we dare hope that this situation could actually have an impact on global intelligence, that is real intelligence in people's minds, not the NSA/Silicon Valley kind?
We do know that even when it comes to matters of the nation's health, Washington's dense and bought have remained steadfastly dense and bought, maintaining their opposition to covering the entire nation with health insurance, to this very day. Could we hope that a global pandemic might be enough to shake the consciousness and/or conscience of a few of them? Unfortunately, a lot of those folks are just not that much into the rest of the world, except maybe bombing them.
But perhaps if we will substitute invaders from another star system for the pandemic, the absurdity of the plot of this science fiction film we're actually living though might stand out more clearly.
The threat arrives, seemingly from nowhere. Do the earthlings unite? No, they argue about who's going to pay and who's going to get protected first. "There's money involved here. We're not about to let those damned Russian commun - er - capitalists get the benefit of our hard earned dollars." Meanwhile, the invaders know and care nothing about this money thing and they roll over these foolish, bickering earthlings.
Back in the world without the space invaders, I don't know exactly who's making out among those dastardly Russians, but there appear to be at least five major American pharmaceutical corporations in the race to produce a vaccine. Three of them are receiving government research funding. Two of those have pledged to do it on a non-profit basis and I suppose that's something - even though corporations are well known for crossing their fingers when claiming to do anything on a basis other than profit. The other government-funded corporation explicitly declined such a pledge. And the other two companies are going entirely free market. What will the vaccine cost the individual and who will get it? Well, as we know, the dense and the bought believe these things are matters to be settled between individuals and their pharmaceutical companies.
The call for an alternative to replace capitalism has generally, and understandably, focused on the inability of a system based on profit to treat everyone fairly. But there is, in a sense, an even deeper argument - competence. There is simply no reason to believe that reliance on the search for corporate profit represents anything like a sensible strategy for dealing with problems affecting the entire globe.
The pandemic has already been a teachable moment, that has already stretched to a teachable semester, for millions around our globe. Whether the dense and the bought of the world's capitals will learn much of anything remains to be seen.