Big Pharma: Part of the Problem of part of the solution?

By Walden Bello

In this issue:

We feature the speech delivered by Professor Walden Bello last July 14, 2003 as part of the debate o­n patents, drug development and HIV/Aids at theXV International Aids Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

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IRAQ SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN STATEMENT

We at the Iraq Solidarity Campaign welcome the government’s decision to pull out the troops from a country where they should never have been sent to in the first place. Our gratitude, however, is not reserved for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was her, after all, who – by supporting an illegal war and occupation – put Angelo dela Cruz in harm’s way. It was her who – by holding the people’s welfare hostage to her and the United States’ interests – held the life of dela Cruz o­n her hand. No: we cannot thank the President for putting aside the knife that she herself had held so close to Angelo’s neck.

The ‘terrorists’ in Iraq : Support for the illegal war-not pull-out-exposes us to ‘terrorism’ 

By Herbert Docena 

In this Issue: 

Ten more members of the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent in Iraq are expected to arrive today. According to news reports from Baghdad, the remaining 32 other members will be flying back to the country shortly, thus signaling the full withdrawal of Philippine troops from Iraq. The entire country now awaits with bated-breath the homecoming of Angelo dela Cruz, the truck driver and father of 8, whose captivity moved the nation and reinvigorated the debate o­n the war and the occupation of Iraq.  

Meditations of a Single Day

By Renato Redentor Constantino 

In this Issue: 

Constantino shares an eventful day in Hong Kong with hope-filled anectodes about overcoming adversaries no matter how powerful they are. The reported mobilization in Hong Kong with numbers reaching close to half a million protestors is impressive. Red’s narrative is an important insight into the prevailing political climate in Hong Kong seven years after the historic handover to China. Trade campaigners around the globe are looking at Hong Kong-- the site of the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization in 2005-- as the next major convergence point of anti-WTO, anti-globalization protests. It would be useful to pause and reflect o­n the sort of issues that are closest to the hearts and minds of HK residents today and how to link their concerns to issues of trade and globalization, if we are hoping for a repeat of the "mammoth demonstration o­n July 1" with its characteristic mix of discipline and determination next year. 

Red Constantino writes a regular column for the paper TODAY and its o­nline partner, abs-cbnnews.com where this piece originally appeared (Op-Ed, TODAY/abs-cbnnews.com. July 12, 2004 

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=Opinion&OID=54976