OK, so I'm just taking off from the title of the book "Money Ball" which I just took off the shelf for my BART reading. But on the news tonight, there was footage of a worldwide AIDS conference in Vienna. A room with thousands of delegates was shown applauding a new breakthrough. Well, maybe, these things need years of testing before they are proven to work and then be administered to the afflicted people.
Does this conference do anything for the sufferers or more for the attendees? Attendees get a goody bag and lots of eating and drinking and carrying on like all conferences. Plush hotel rooms, lovely bathrobes and all the rest.
The fact is that AIDS is now a major industry, the big Pharmas and the little startups are competing to find the magic bullet and rack in the megabucks. I find it sickening.
People in many countries around the world are wasting away and dying, leaving their families behind to fend for themselves. There are so many little things that can be done to stop the spread of AIDS, like giving away condoms and educating people in their use. But where's the money in that? And the several major religions won't allow it anyway.
As I said, it's just so wrong. Several thousand well fed and housed delegates jumping to their feet and applauding a "breakthrough" that was created and publicized and will be continued based on good old greed makes me sick. Tell them all to go back home and do something actually useful rather than grubbing for cash. Please, someone, please, make these disease celebrities just go away.
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