One Love

PSA FOR THOSE IN DC AREA - PLEASE STOP FEEDING BIRDS (JUNE 2021)

for as long as humans have taken photos, some of those humans have wanted to be photographed next to the really big cool thing they found

frequently those cool things have been sauropod femurs as it turns out

insulin has been mass produced (from animal extracts) since -1923-. slow acting insulin has existed since the ‘50s, and ‘human’ genetically engineered insulin (derived from E. coli bacteria) has existed since 1982.

insulin treatment for diabetes is not some new or ‘unproven’ treatment. according to beyondtype1, “Humalog rapid-acting insulin came on to the market with a list price of $21 a vial in 1997.” adjusting for inflation, a vial these days should cost about $34 at most. instead, it costs over $300. there is NO reason for it to be steadily gaining in price to the point that diabetics are unable to afford their lifesaving medication, other than the sheer inhuman greed of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

“ We’re a team of biohackers with a variety of backgrounds, and skills, and relationships to insulin and diabetes from many cities and countries around the world, including Oakland, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Paraiba, Brazil; Dakar, Senegal; Yaounde, Cameroon; and Puerto Rico. We’re working to develop the first practical, small-scale, community-centered model for insulin production to make insulin accessible to all. We envision a world in which communities in need have local sources of safe, affordable, high-quality insulin, and where people living with diabetes and their communities can own and govern the organizations that produce the medicine they depend on to survive. 

What We Do

We are creating an open-source (freely available) model for insulin production that centers on sustainable, small-scale manufacturing and open-source alternatives to production. We are developing protocols to produce short-acting (lispro) and long-acting (glargine) insulin, working on developing open-hardware equivalents to traditional production equipment, are researching sustainable regulation pathways to bring our insulin to the public, and are building capacities for local, small-scale manufacturing.

How Do I Participate?

Our work would not be possible without the support of volunteers, interns, and community advisors. We welcome people of all backgrounds from all over the world to bring their enthusiasm, time, connections, and experiences, both in life and in work. Our volunteers promote us on social media, build equipment, run experiments, write reports and blog posts, facilitate meetings, connect with other organizations and groups, meet with experts in the field, run virtual events, and contribute in designing tools, resources, and methods of all sorts.

Potential Partners

We welcome collaboration with other groups that share our mission―community labs, academic institutions, patient advocacy groups, and NGOs.

Donate

Your donation will help us get closer to our goal. With a healthy financial situation, we can pay for lab supplies, acquire lab equipment, recruit scientists, and pay for consultation fees for regulation and manufacturing experts.”

The situation around Sheikh Jarrah should make everyone angry. For those of you who might not know what’ going on here’s a brief breakdown:

Indigenous Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, for a very long time, have been fighting lengthy legal battles in Israeli courts against eviction orders which aim to replace these indigenous people with illegal Israeli settlers. 

On May 7th, the illegal Israeli settlers along with courts (an apparatus of Israel’s apartheid regime) have started a campaign to illegally take over the home’s of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. These families were given until today (May 10th, 2021) to “reach an agreement” with the occupiers. This obviously prompted protests. The IDF has also brutally responded to these protests. Now the world is watching and global protests have started happening.

Some important things to note:

-Sheikh Jarrah belongs to the Palestinian families. It is part of the occupied Palestinian territory, and therefore any Israeli settler presence in it amounts to a war crime under international law. 

-There has been a mountain of UN Security Council resolutions demanding that Israel withdraw from East Jerusalem which Israel continues to ignore.

-This is ethnic cleansing

I know you feel hopeless but here’s what we can do:

-Support BDS (Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions) movements (What”s BDS?) Boycott Israeli products from their colonial settlements

-Understand whats happening in Palestine and the crimes of apartheid/persecution being committed by Israel. (Check out this great report by HRW on the situation) After getting an understanding. SPREAD AWARENESS. Especially in the US. This is key to combatting Evangelical propaganda and Israeli lobbyists. Do this through social media.

-Contact your local reps and pressure them to stop giving Israel military funding or any form of financial support. Fight against zionist lobbyists such as AIPAC or Christians United for Israel.

-Donate if you can. Here’s a few links. If you can add more (reputable) donation links to this, I ask that you please do. 

International Medical Corps

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

Grassroots Al-Quds

I found this great twitter thread of donation links

Here is another

This is a start and we can honestly make change happen. I personally believe social media outrage coupled with supporting the BDS movement is a great way for you to help even by sitting at home.