Friday, September 14, 2007

Pfizer justifies child deaths

This reads like a scene out of a movie.

Pfizer has been accused of conducting improper drugs trials on children. About 200 kids in Nigeria's north-western Kano State took part in trials for an anti-meningitis drug in 1996. Officials in Kano say more than 50 children died in the experiment, while many others developed mental and physical deformities. Pfizer says only 11 of the 200 children in the drug trial died. The Nigerian government's expert medical panel concluded that the experiment was "an illegal trial of an unregistered drug" and a "clear case of exploitation of the ignorant". (The original articl can be found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6241322.stm)

Its pretty twisted when a global pharmaceutical firm does this kind of stuff. Aren't these folks supposed to be about protecting life, not destroying it? Are Pfizer shareholders really that greedy that they would be willing to look the other way to justify an additional couple of percentage points growth? This devaluing of life is sickening to witness. With all the advances in technology, medicine, and living standards, are we really moving forward? Or are we giving up our humanity with each new scientific achievement?

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Thanks Man

So I brought the SVP of finance a version of my work, walked him through it, noted the changes he wanted made, made a small joke that made him laugh, then walked away to words which pissed me off to no end. "Thanks Man".

Now maybe I'm reading too much into things, but as a minority working his way up the corporate ladder, hearing that makes me think that the person I am speaking to is acutely aware of me not as a colleague, but as a Black colleague. It further suggests to me that when I am considered for a promotion, I'll be viewed through that lens. So much for "judge me not by the colour of my skin but by the content of my character " (MLK). Am I reading too much into things? Let me know what you think.