GAO Confirms FDA Put Ideology Before Science On Plan B

One of the unconscionable things this Administration has done is subvert the FDA. Originally formed to protect the America people from spurious drugs, it now plays the lapdog in some instances to political needs and appointees. The doctors and scientists approved this drug. the political appointees prevented it from being approved. This is a drug that the right wing has prevented from being distriuted in many pharmacies. There have been reports of the difficulties in trying to fill a prescription.

So, now the GAO has shown that politics at the FDA trumps science. How can the people trust the FDA to protect them when it is not impartial? I mean, will a company be able to stop a competitiors drug from being approved by providing a large enough bribe (donation to the RNC)? Loss of integrity by the FDA bodes ill for us all. And, unfortunately, many truly good people at the FDA have resigned over this issue, allowing their spots to be filled by people who think it is okay for political appointees to make such medial decisions.

Over and above everything else this Administration is guilty of (ant there are so many), the one that hits closest to home is their subjugation of science and medicine to politics. In the long run, this may be the more destructive. Scientific investigations are an attempt to find truth in the natural world. This Administration is psychotic in its need to make ‘truth’ match its political needs.

The “I love my Mac song”

My mother sent me this link. What a fun thing to listen to. Done using Garageband. There is a video that accompanies it. It out to be used in an ad somewhere. Nothing like a used to write a great love letter.

Wed, 09 Nov 2005 01:37:46 GMT

Sony’s Copy Protection Obsession Rolls On?. Never one to let a little bad PR slow them down, Sony has apparently applied for a patent in Japan that would lock copies of software and media to a particular playback unit — spurring rumors that the PS3 wouldn’t be able to play used, rented or borrowed games. While PlayStation honcho Ken Kutaragi said at the beginning of the year Sony’s stance on copy protection had held up innovation at the company, it’s likely the movie and music units don’t agree. DRM like this might be Hollywood’s wet dream — locking a copy of a movie, say, to one DVD player and one DVD player only — but we hope Sony’s not stupid enough to let its entertainment units be the tail that wags the dog to such an extreme. It would kill not just the rental and used game businesses, but also would destroy the “hey, you should borrow this game, it’s really great” marketing that helps out game sales. Moves like this or not supporting backwards compatibility would pretty much kill any console.

[Techdirt]

Almost every personal electronic device is a Sony (TV, DVD player, Receiver, Camcorder, Playstation). If they do something as stupid as this, I will no longer buy any more Sony products. This has to be one of the stupidist ideas. So, we have to have a different CD to listen at home, in the car, on our Walkman. idiots. But after the fiasco of protected CDs, this seems par for the course.

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:30:30 GMT

J. E. Hirsch

An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output

PNAS

published
November 7, 2005,

10.1073/pnas.0507655102
(
Physics
)

[Abstract]

[PDF]

  [PNAS Early Edition]

The ENTIRE abstract:

I propose the index h, defined as the number of papers with citation number ≥h, as a useful index to characterize the scientific output of a researcher.

Okay, I expect the paper to be a little more than this but to quatify the research putput by saying that the number of citations should be greater than the number of papers does seem a little simplistic.

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:27:12 GMT

Hidenori Takagi, Takachika Hiroi, Lijun Yang, Yoshifumi Tada, Yoshikazu Yuki, Kaoru Takamura, Ryotaro Ishimitsu, Hideyuki Kawauchi, Hiroshi Kiyono, and Fumio Takaiwa

A rice-based edible vaccine expressing multiple T cell epitopes induces oral tolerance for inhibition of Th2-mediated IgE responses

PNAS

published
November 8, 2005,

10.1073/pnas.0503428102
(
Plant Biology
)

[Abstract]

[PDF]

[Supporting Information]

  [PNAS Early Edition]

Getting rid of allergies by eating something and a nasal mist. Pretty interesting idea.

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:21:24 GMT

Changes to embryos can elicit change in adult fish. In a study illustrating the apparent linkages between the evolutionary development and embryonic development of species, researchers have uncovered the genetic elements that determine the structure and function of a simple biomechanical system, the lower jaw of the cichlid fish. In addition, they’ve shown that increasing expression of a particular gene in an embryo can lead to physical changes in the adult fish. [EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health]

Evo-devo is really so cool. Slight changes in gene expression result in larger changes in the adult, changing its feeding habits. Nice demonstration of how species could arise.

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 18:43:23 GMT

The compact between reporters and anonymous sources. Here’s the test all reporters should use when deciding whether to protect an anonymous source:

Transparency is the overarching issue. And confronting the problem of anonymous sources, because they are anything but transparent, is a key. While in Indochina during the Vietnam War, after endless off-the-record briefings where half-truths and lies were told, I came to a new view of government disinformation. And this is it: When reporters agree with government officials not to disclose their identity, both sides are making a compact. Reporters are agreeing not to reveal who the sources are or even what government or agency they work for. And the sources, in return, are agreeing to tell reporters, yes, the truth.

What that meant to me was that if they told lies and I could demonstrate through solid reporting that they knew they had lied, then they had broken the compact and I was freed from my grant of confidentiality.

By kos . [Daily Kos]

Sounds right to me. An anonymous source that constantly lies is simply abusing the system. Liers should be outed.

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 18:42:17 GMT

Mini windmills power wireless networks. Power can be scavenged from a gentle breeze. [news@nature.com]

Pretty nice. 7.5 milliwatts from a 16 km/hr sind. ENough for lots of electronic devices. Now we just need some better batteries.

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 18:39:12 GMT

Radio Host Arrested While On Air For Allegedly Poisoning His WifeÅ´ì.

In the spring of 2004, Julie Keown began suffering odd symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, slurred speech, and a rash on her leg. But doctors could not pinpoint the cause, and the following September, after her kidneys began failing, the 31-year-old registered nurse slipped into a coma at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and died.

Yesterday, after a 14-month investigation by Massachusetts detectives and the state Medical Examiner’s Office, Keown’s husband James was arrested at a Missouri radio station shortly after he had gone on the air with his political talk show. Police charged him with fatally poisoning his wife by pouring antifreeze in her Gatorade over several months.

[The Huffington Post | Full News Feed]

Why you should never allow someone else to give you an alrady opened drink, at least on a regular basis.

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 15:55:54 GMT

“More on Sony: Dangerous Decloaking Patch, EULAs and Phoning Home” [Daypop Top 40]

Read about one of the more imbecilic things a maor corporation has done:Sony plants invisible software on your computer when you place a CD in it. The installation of the software not only makes your computer unsafe and insecure, no mention is ever made of how to uninstall it nor was there any mention in the EULA about this. It makes network connections without notice. Horrible. I expect some nice law suits from this, not the least from other companies whose software is impaired or harmed by Sony’s stupidity.

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 04:51:54 GMT

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

has filed an amendment to change the official name of the “Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act 2005″ to the “Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act.” (It’s a fitting title.)

[Think Progress]

Finally, a title that does not emply Newspeak, as almost every Republican bill does.

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 07:10:56 GMT

Ringtone: “Brownie, you are doing a heckuva job”. Xeni Jardin:
The president’s words of praise for former FEMA director Michael Brown are immortalized in this mobile phone ringtone. Link, via John Borland’s column. (Thanks, katrin)
[Boing Boing]

But is it worth the price… Free.

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 06:22:27 GMT

Military applications for “Silly String”. Mark Frauenfelder:
Stefan says: “Rob Cockerham’s ‘How Much is Inside’ series once featured the aerosol novelty ‘Silly String.’

“Rob has just posted some correspondence with a former Marine Sargeant who describes how the stuff is used in the field:”

Silly string has served me well in Combat especially in looking for I.A.Ds., simply put, booby traps. . . . When you spray the string it just spreads everywhere and when it sets it lays right on the wire. Even in a dark room the string stands out revealing the trip wire.

Link [Boing Boing]

We need to send more Silly String over to Iraq.

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 06:10:19 GMT

Time to dump Jeff Sax.

Lancie Dickie of the Seattle Times says it’s time to pull the plug on Snohomish County Councilmember Jeff Sax, in favor of Progressive Majority endorsed candidate Dave Somers.

 

From the article:

 

Early in his 2005 re-election campaign, Snohomish County Councilman Jeff Sax sat down for a political roast meant to poke premeditated fun at his bull-in-the-china-shop style. No one mentioned the embarrassing fact that a house was built on his property without a building permit. Ho, ho, ho, ha, ha, ha.

Sax and his supporters were obviously trying to disarm opponents with a list of his political faux pas. But there are limits to partisan joshing. Imagine, a senior, elected county official being such a silly goose. Not a deck or fence or, oh, heck, a family room. A whole damn house! Like it wasn’t even there!! Oh, stop, you’re killing me, I’m practically incontinent.

So what happens when he and his extended family get caught with no permit? Does Sax plead forehead-slapping ignorance, which his critics might concede? No, he said such offenses were common. His defense was to defame everyone else. Of course, that’s not true. Most landowners follow the law and pay up.

Sax has been the mouth that roars at the Snohomish County Courthouse for four years. His persona is of contempt for government as the source of anything, other than, apparently, a personal paycheck.

 

Read the whole thing here, or get the facts on Jeff Sax by clicking on www.JeffSaxFacts.com

<!–

–> [Progressive Majority Washington - A Future Worth Fighting For]

Luckily, I get to vote for Dave. Nice.

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 06:05:39 GMT

BRIEFLY: Greenspan sees deficit troubles. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned a Congressional committee Thursday that the country could face “serious economic disruptions” if bloated budget deficits are not curbed. The government produced a $319 billion budget deficit this year — an improvement from the record amount of red ink registered in 2004 but still the third-highest deficit on record. Greenspan repeated his call for lawmakers to restore spending caps, and he urged lawmakers to pay for any future tax cuts with either increases in other taxes or reductions in spending. Greenspan also warned that persistently large deficits will eventually push up interest rates. [Business]

‘Serious economic disruptions.’ Is that economics geek talk ‘fricking depression?’