As IF Times

link Peru’s mountain people face fight for survival in a bitter winter | World news | The Observer

This is one of those articles that illustrates the propaganda that the left leaning media spins so well. This particular paper is notorious for their slant on today’s events. Unless you view these pieces with some healthy skepticism, you are subtly coerced to believe that it is industrialization that’s at the root of the problems facing these unfortunate people.

Full credit is given for the ambitious article since a number of evils are roped in to blame for the suffering of these rustic mountain people. This passage:

“…In a world growing ever hotter, Huancavelica is an anomaly. These communities, living at the edge of what is possible, face extinction because of increasingly cold conditions in their own microclimate, which may have been altered by the rapid melting of the glaciers…”

doesn’t even make any sense. The accepted strategy of the weather chicken littles is to assign every incidence of abnormal weather to anthropocentric warming…even if it’s extreme cooling. Again, we hear Orwell guffawing from his musty grave. Rational people will be exhausted at attempting to argue the logic of these people. In a different time, when one was accused of being a witch, they were either burned or thrown in the lake. If they survived, they were a witch, if not, then society was rid of a scourge. You would think we’ve moved a bit past that, but ample evidence shows otherwise. In any event, that was only the side point.

Another gem:

“…Climate change campaigners and development NGOs say that the failure of Copenhagen has signed the death warrant for hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest and that a quarter of a million children will die before world leaders meet again to try to thrash out another deal at the United Nations next climate change conference in Mexico in December. Among them may be these children of the high mountains…”

Heck, a quarter of a million children will die anyway because of falling out of trees, falling over cliffs, eating bad shrimp, skateboarding without helmets, but more likely because of corrupt and inept governments and their ill conceived policies. The weather as a cause of minor mortality is probably down the list somewhere at 47.

Of course the real culprit are industrialists,

“… Last July, dozens of indigenous protesters were killed and scores injured when riots broke out in Bagua Grande in the Amazonas region over claims that the government was giving away land to oil and gas drilling…”

While I can’t comment on the veracity of this, I do know from a parallel life that if an economic resource can be developed in a lesser developed country, all manner of concessions and considerations are given to the local government as compensation for any displacement. In many cases, large infrastructure projects are created such as power or water supplies as well as transportation routes. It is in the best interests of the developer to have everyone happy. It is then up to the government to best decide how and where to use these resources. As we know, in many nations, even ours, some people are more equal than others so the distribution of resources is never fair.

What perplexes me about this piece is why these people are still living in this harsh, hostile area. The article states that winters are longer, disease is rife and conditions have worsened over the years to the risk of losing this population. Why doesn’t the local government use resources to move these people, create alternate means of making a living etc etc? Are they not allowing people to move from the mountains to more hospitable parts of Peru? Apparently the people here are ‘hardened to poverty’. Why should that be? If you lived in New Orleans and the water rose again, would you become hardened to the mud?

You can bet humans are at the root cause of this grief, but not via the weather.

There was a discussion a while back about the overbearing influence of the law community in our modern lives. In the examples cited, there was at least some attempt to sell goods with the caveats tucked away in small print. The advertisement for Chantix, a stop smoking drug, comes from the modern Monty Python school of marketing.

Most are probably not familiar with the tortuous path taken by any pharmaceutical product prior to being unleashed upon the consuming public. The time involved can be 10 years in some cases, hundreds of millions of dollars of research and development, stage 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials and of course human trials. After ALL that, a product is ready for sale to you and me. Luckily there are already products out there for that nagging itch.

So this particular product is to be consumed by people wishing to quit smoking, an admirable pursuit and not that easy to do, so why not get a little help if that monkey just won’t get off your back?. Enter Chantix. The TV commercial and official website for this product claims the following:

“…CHANTIX is proven to work.
In studies, 44% of CHANTIX users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment (compared to 18% on sugar pill). CHANTIX also helped reduce the urge to smoke.

CHANTIX has been proven to be more effective in helping smokers quit than Zyban® (bupropion hydrochloride). The average person in these studies had been a smoker for more than 24 years. The trials involved a mix of men and women who smoked an average of 10 or more cigarettes a day…”

Not exactly “things go better with coke” but that’s what happens when the lawyers write copy. The best part of the TV add is the 75% of the time spent on the possible minor annoying side effects like:

“…changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions while using CHANTIX…”

or,

“…agitation, hostility, depression, or changes in behavior, thinking, or mood that are not typical…”

and,

“…you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, anxiety, panic, aggression, anger, mania, abnormal sensations, hallucinations, paranoia, or confusion, stop taking CHANTIX and call your doctor right away…”

plus,

“…Some people can have serious skin reactions while taking CHANTIX, some of which can become life-threatening. These can include rash, swelling, redness, and peeling of the skin. Some people can have allergic reactions to CHANTIX, some of which can be life-threatening and include: swelling of the face, mouth, and throat that can cause trouble breathing. If you have these symptoms or have a rash with peeling skin or blisters in your mouth, stop taking CHANTIX and get medical attention right away.

The most common side effects include nausea (30%), sleep problems, constipation, gas, and/or vomiting. You may have trouble sleeping, vivid, unusual, or strange dreams. If you have side effects that bother you or don’t go away, tell your doctor…”

Or just light up, spare the postal workers. We’ve come quite a way from marketing in the 1960’s when,

“…4 out of 5 doctors recommend Parliament cigarettes; so smooth, so satisfying…”

Under the watchful eye of the legal hawks today, careers of ad writers and jingoists are severely threatened, unless they can find a rhyme for buproprion hydrochloride or convince people that thoughts of suicide and stomach pains are cool. The superbowl ad industry will crater.

The beer commercials will be followed by disclaimers that:

“All loose women are hired professionals and will not appear at your parties. Drinking our product leads to bar fights, police scrutiny, unwanted spouses, unamused spouses and soiled clothing. Many will suffer liver damage and extensive medical complications”

Joe Izuzu, where are you?