Millionen Kinderleben durch Profitgier bedroht!

Kein Patent auf Gesundheit:
Protest gegen Patentantrag von Boehringer Ingelheim auf AIDS-Medikament für Kinder

Allein im südlichen Afrika sind zwei Millionen Kinder HIV-positiv. Doch nicht einmal zehn Prozent der Jungen und Mädchen erhalten die Medikamente, die sie zum Überleben bräuchten. Einer der Gründe: Die Medikamente sind viel zu teuer. Eines der wenigen Medikamente für AIDS-kranke Kinder ist der Nevirapine-Sirup. Indische Generika-Firmen produzieren das Medikament seit vielen Jahren kostengünstig und exportieren es auch in arme Länder. Doch dieser preiswerte Zugang zu AIDS-Medikamenten ist nun bedroht. Die deutsche Firma Boehringer Ingelheim produziert das Originalpräparat und hat in Indien einen Patentantrag auf das Medikament gestellt. Wird dem stattgegeben, stellt das einen gefährlichen Präzedenzfall dar: es ist mit weiteren Patentanträgen von Boehringer und anderen Unternehmen in Indien zu rechnen.
Damit droht der indischen Generika-Produktion in der bisherigen Form das Aus. Eine wichtige Quelle für preiswerte, überlebensnotwendige Medikamente könnte versiegen.

Fordert bitte Boehringer Ingelheim auf, den Patentantrag auf den Nevirapine-Sirup in Indien zurückzuziehen, indem ihr auf diese Seite geht.

Sydney

Now that I am already some days in Sydney I will give you an impression about this city by showing some pictures after a few words about my experiences so far.
The day before yesterday I was "on the piss" as we Aussies say ;-) and at last I found a club where good music is played (what I consider as good: Rock, Punk, Emo, besides they had a really nice live band) and where I got to know some nice Aussies. So I finally did not hear neither Madonna nor ABBA once during the whole night!!! Because that is the kind of music you have to expect in almost every club or pub when they don't play hip hop or techno... The only real good thing that is kind of a standard in Australia are the cover bands that play quite nice rock music. But the DJs are kinda shit - or the people who listen to this music - or me because I don't like this "trendy" music - take it as you wish.
I like to walk trough the city since you can go nearly everywhere by foot - so small is the city center! The only time I used busses so far was when I have been to Bondi Beach (for swimming) respectively North Bondi (for enjoying the sunset and the cliffs with the waves breaking agianst them). I was also in the Botanic Garden and the Hyde Park and I have seen quite a bit of Sydney now. But unfortunately I can just show you some photos because I don't find my extra battery for my mobile so that - since I cannot reload the normal battery properly with my data link cable - most of the time the battery is too low to take photos...
But still here are some pics:


My first look at the skyline from a part of the harbour


Wooloolooloo Bay


Part of the skyline behinds palms


Yes: There is a peace mouvement in Australia as well


Hyde Park: Huge War Memorial behind trees


Australian "security solution": Cameras almost everywhere!


Indian market/festival in front of the skyline


The "Hare Krishna Tent" at the Indian market/festival


Tropical Fever Festival with a big variety of music styles from Salsa over Indie Rock to Gypsie...


"c": the first bar I have been to.
The banner with a picture of Che says "ENJOY THE REVOLUTION"


Liquid Buzz with live band at the (carbon neutral!) Agincourt Hotel


P.S.
Am 6.4. flieg ich nach LA und am 11.4. nach New York und bin am 22.4. gegen 13 Uhr am Frankfurter Flughafen...

Kakadu National Park videos

Here are the promised (short) videos: enjoy! Sorry about the quality but as a poor student I have nothing but my mobile to take photos and videos...


Jumping Croc Cruise


Huge waterfalls and my group

Kakadu National Park - NOW WITH PHOTOS!

Finally I could upload the best photos from my trip to Kakadu:


Matthias the "snake tamer"


Me again with a close up of "my" snake


Boat for the Jumping Crocodile Cruise

First crocodile jump

Second crocodile jump

Croc swiming around his "prey"/the bait

Big croc jumping

Huge waterfall I

Huge waterfall II

Nice little falls

A dragonfly

Our overnight bush camp in the wilderness

Our 4WD

Flodded plain

View over the Kakadu National Park

Aboriginal Rock Art

Explanation of the Rock Art

Da ich nun in Sydney angekommen bin und erstmal schoen geschlafen hab, kann ich nun auf meine 2taegige Tour in den Kakadu-Nationalpark zurueckblicken, was ich wie mittlerweile ueblich in englisch tun werde.
My trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Kakadu National Park was great right from the start. The first stop was at South Alligator River where we had breakfast and where we also could hold snakes! But that experience was just the beginning because the next adventure was the Jumping Crocodile Cruise where we saw these rehistoric but still very living creatures really near from the safety of a boat!
Then we had to drive a long way and even 150 km more than in the Dry season because the northern entry is closed during the Wet... After lunch we went for a nice swim by hiking 3 km up to a beautiful waterfall. Afterwards we drove further north to our bush camp where we had a tasty dinner that we prepared together and after a couple of beers I fell asleep quickly and woke up shortly after the others. After breakfast we went to a really nice lookout. But we had to climb quite a steep hill in the burning sun at 32 degrees Celsius to have a wide view over the near Nourlangie Rock and the park in general. Then we were heading off to Nourlangie Rock where I lost the group for a while and enjoyed the Aboriginal rock art (paintings that are up to 35.000 years old!), a nice hike to a lookout and the view from that point on my own. After joining the group again I visited the Aboriginal Culture Center with them and learned a lot about the indigenous culture (languages, social relations, hunting, education and so on) in the Kakadu area. Before we enjoyed our last swim in a bigger waterhole we had lunch after a short stop at a little waterhole for refreshing ourselves a bit in between. Then we already had to leave this beautiful place that ovbtained as one of a few places in the world the UNESCO World Heritage award for both its cultural AND natural particularity!
All in all it was a good decision to see Litchfield and Kakadu although two days in the Wet is not really enough.

"Political" street signs

Here are some great street signs from Australia ;-)


A new one: keep left, even on the escalator

Time to go for the right wing


Do the right thing: Turn left


Here it's the only way: Go left


No, no: Wrong direction...

Keep left - Smash right