LCBO Raises Prices for 'Social Responsibility'?

Every once in a while, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario raises prices for 'social responsibility'. They have claimed that raising prices of alcohol will prevent people from consuming too much. Here is a statement from their website (http://www.lcbo.com/socialresponsibility/ourcommitment.shtml):

 "...we carry low-alcohol products and set minimum prices, since research shows that price affects consumption levels."

Cans of beer were raised by 5-10 cents and bottles of wine by 15 cents. In Ontario, $2.00 cans of 500ml imported beer have been available for years, and still are (as of June 2013).

So, here are some questions I have:

1) Why are they having sales and lowering the prices of certain brands? Doesn't this go directly against the concept of 'social responsibility'?

2) Why did they allow people to hoard alcohol when word of a possible labour strike was announced before a holiday weekend? Isn't allowing 'hoarding' irresponsible?

3) Is 'social responsibility' a more easily digestible term than 'maximizing profit'? Hmmmm.

4) Will a 5 cent raise in price per can of beer or 15 cent raise in price for a bottle of wine prevent a person from buying their regular amount of alcohol? I think not.

Be careful of what they tell you.

Seattle Man Cured of HIV?

As I watched FOX News today, then subsequently read The Seattle Times article about a man 'cured of HIV', I began to dig further.

Here is the opening of the online article for The Seattle Times story:

"Early reports identified him only as “the Berlin patient.” But Timothy Ray Brown, the first person cured of HIV, was born and raised in Seattle."

Back in March, 2013, a baby was supposedly cured of HIV. A baby is a person, so Timothy Ray Brown could not be the 'first person' cured of HIV.

As The Seattle Times states: "Other scientists think early, aggressive treatment of HIV might be able to eliminate the virus. That’s what happened with a baby in Mississippi who was born infected. Doctors immediately administered high doses of drugs. More than two years later, the child seems to be HIV-free."

(sources listed in previous blog: http://theverbalproletariat.blogspot.ca/2013/03/mississippi-baby-cured-of-hiv.html)

Not only was Mr. Brown 'not the first person cured of HIV', but the question remains - did he even have HIV? As The Seattle Times also states:

"Brown spent most of 2008 in the hospital. But every time Hütter tested him for HIV, the tests came up blank. Today, Brown no longer takes drugs for HIV, and no tests have detected virus anywhere in his body."

First of all, no HIV test can detect the HIV virus in the blood (see below), and anybody who can read and interpret English will understand the package inserts that come with standard HIV tests; for example:

"A Reactive result by Uni-GoldTM Recombigen® HIV suggests the presence of anti-HIV-1 antibodies in the specimen. Uni-GoldTM Recombigen® HIV is intended as an aid in the diagnosis of infection with HIV-1. AIDS and AIDS-related conditions are clinical symptoms and their diagnosis can only be established clinically."

"EIA testing alone cannot be used to diagnose AIDS, even if the recommended investigation of reactive specimens suggests a high probability that the antibody to HIV-1 is present. [...] At present there is no recognized standard for establishing the presence and absence of HIV-1 antibody in human blood." 

"Do not use this kit as the sole basis of diagnosing HIV-1 infection" (HIV-1 Western Blot Kit, Epitope, Inc., Organon Teknika Corporation PN201-3039 Revision #8)

So, unless there is a new test that can actually 'detect a virus', I rest my case; be very careful of what you are lead to believe! There is a lot more to any news story than a headline.

You may also want to read about AZT and Leukemia.