Incidentally it was discovered some years ago from digs in the middle east that the greatest technological gain of all time, the technology of agriculture, had come close to destroying the lives of quite a few generations of women. All the female skeletons had knees ruined by arthritis: it seems they probably spent the bulk of each day on their knees grinding the grain for the evening meal. In fact agriculture was responsible for plague, war, slavery, and starvation. Of course _eventually_ some of those 'problems' were 'solved' by further 'advances. Take it from there.
Let me repeat; the argument over technology is a bit absurd on both sides. Technology (of any kind) does not exist in a vacuum, and to discuss it as an entity in itself makes both sides look stupid.
Carrol
On 5/6/2011 6:18 PM, 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Somebody Somebody"<philos_case at yahoo.com>
>
> "Somebody: Of course. What is universal health care, for instance? The expansion of access to medical technology to the masses. Kerala has a robust public health infrastructure and state hospitals. Likewise, Cuba has an advanced biotechnology and pharmaceuticals sector."
>
> No. That is definitely not what universal health care is. Universal health care starts with clean air, clean water, real food, and sanitation. What makes Cubans healthy is NOT the advanced bio tech and pharma sectors but the fact that there is a clinic available to the general population every 1/2 mile, the fact that education on leading a healthy life is universal, and that preventive care is the order of the day.
>
> In fact, what makes Cuban doctors particularly effective when working abroad in crisis situations, like Haiti, is that they can deliver medical care in very primitive conditions.
>
> The only thing that is greater than your arrogance on this particular subject is your ignorance.
>
> "The thing to remember when dealing with poor countries like the Indian state of Kerala is that vast improvements in life indicators can be achieved relatively cheaply through the institution of basic public health measures, nutrition, family planning, community clinics, and skilled attendants available for birth. But, beyond a certain point, further gains in life expectancy require rapidly increasing levels of technology."
>
> Evidence?
>
> Joanna
>
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