Drugs don’t work

Truth

The media did well today.

Before the PR shysters employed by the Pharmaceutical industry could muzzle them, the truth emerged – the anti-depressants don’t work for most patients.

Lots of less dangerous remedies do including exercise, talking to trusted friends and cognitive behaviour therapy. If anything today’s thunderous demolishing of the Phama’s chicanery was a little kind to them.

They have suppressed trials that showed their drugs had no effect or a negative effect when the results were worse than placebos. For twenty years there has been a campaign to medicalisng the inevitable sadness of life as an illness. Depression rates have increased by 300% and the tills of the Pharmas have been ringing happily as the $billions of profit roll in.

Of the 40 millions anti-depressants users, millions are dependent on them. Others have suffered from the increased suicidal tendencies that the drugs create. The 150 years of medical mis-prescribing continues.

It started with cocaine, prescribed by Freud for his patients and himself, then bromide in the First World War which created its own psychosis, Bromism. The 50s and 60s saw the mass use of benzos which were prescribed like smarties. Recently the new miracle tablets have been tricyclics and SSRIs. All are useless for the mass of patients. All create dependency. All have made fortunes for the Pharmas.

Let hope that today’s publicity will seriously dent the public’s mis-placed faith in mass unscientific medication.

Farm tax windfall

Pig –farmers are angry because their grain feed stocks have gone up in price. They seem to be demanding a handout from the taxpayers. They have a produced a record named ‘Stand by your Ham.’

Perhaps they should look elsewhere for justice. Grain farmers are enjoying a bonanza, with huge increases in their income. These are windfalls that were not anticipated when the levels of subsidies were agreed.

In the spirit of helpfulness I have tabled the following EDM

Virement of Farm Tax

That this House notes that cereal farms in England saw an increase of 70 per cent in average income in 2006-07 and a further increase of 45 per cent in 2007-08; regrets the consequent increase in price of grain to pig and other farmers; believes that virement of the windfall profits from grain farmers to farmers in difficulty would be a fair solution for all, including the average family that is forced to pay £540 a year in Farm Tax.

Police duty

It’s all gone quiet in the mini-riot that erupted in Glanaman at the end of January. A fox was pursued down

Llwyncelyn Road

by an estimated 30 hounds. There was a great row between local people and the hunters – even allegations of violence.

In the interest of apprehending alleged lawbreakers I have tabled the following EDM

That this House insists that appropriate action should be taken by Dyfed Powys police following the invasion of Llwyncelyn Road, Glanaman in January by a pack of 30 dogs in pursuit of a fox in a clear breach of the law; notes a comment of a resident that ‘The law is an ass if you ask me and these huntsmen are getting away with murder”; is concerned by reports of flagrant breeches of the Hunting Act and calls on the Police throughout the UK to do their duty.

Synthetic Anger.

The Lib-Dems staged a mini-stunt this afternoon and forced the Deputy Speaker to expel one of their MPs. It's a long time since anyone has been thrown out. It's almost always a calculated move to turn the spotlight onthe LibDems.The member involved sounded over excited and it was difficult to understand him. I believe he wanted a vote on a referendum, not on the Lisbon Treaty, but for or against staying inthe EU. Not much point in that.

Today's pantomine was powerfully reminiscent of a child who was missing out on parental attention.

Comments

[Chris Gale]

Thanks for the EDM on the appalling Glanaman incident Paul.