I guess I wasn't watching the news on March 26, 2002 because I missed this report: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Security screeners at 32 U.S. airports failed to detect most knives and simulated explosives -- and one of every three guns -- that federal investigators tried to smuggle past security checkpoints in tests after the September 11 attacks, a government official said Monday.
In hundreds of undercover tests conducted between November and February, security screeners missed 70 percent of knives, 60 percent of simulated explosive devices, and 30 percent of guns. Overall, screeners failed 48 percent of the time. "
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Jury: Merck Liable for Man's Heart Attack
Merck Liable for Man's Heart Attack:
"ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A New Jersey jury found Merck & Co. concealed the dangers of its once-popular painkiller Vioxx in a split verdict that gave one of two plaintiffs in the trial $4.5 million in compensatory damages.
The trial was the first to address long-term use of the drug and some analysts said the Superior Court jury's decision Wednesday could prompt Merck to rethink its policy of battling each lawsuit individually.
Jurors said the company also had failed to warn doctors and the public about risks associated with the drug.
The jury, which spent a month hearing the cases of former Vioxx users John McDarby and Thomas Cona, returned a split verdict after two days of deliberations, finding that Vioxx caused McDarby's heart attack but not Cona's. Cona was awarded only the cost of his Vioxx prescription.
'This case was about the McDarbys and the Conas, but it was about more than that,' said Robert Gordon, one of McDarby's lawyers. 'It was about the 100,000 people in this nation who had heart attacks. It's about the tens of thousands doctors who were lied to by Merck about the dangers of Vioxx.'
The verdict sent Vioxx shares down 3 percent in late trading Wednesday evening."
Booyah!
"ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A New Jersey jury found Merck & Co. concealed the dangers of its once-popular painkiller Vioxx in a split verdict that gave one of two plaintiffs in the trial $4.5 million in compensatory damages.
The trial was the first to address long-term use of the drug and some analysts said the Superior Court jury's decision Wednesday could prompt Merck to rethink its policy of battling each lawsuit individually.
Jurors said the company also had failed to warn doctors and the public about risks associated with the drug.
The jury, which spent a month hearing the cases of former Vioxx users John McDarby and Thomas Cona, returned a split verdict after two days of deliberations, finding that Vioxx caused McDarby's heart attack but not Cona's. Cona was awarded only the cost of his Vioxx prescription.
'This case was about the McDarbys and the Conas, but it was about more than that,' said Robert Gordon, one of McDarby's lawyers. 'It was about the 100,000 people in this nation who had heart attacks. It's about the tens of thousands doctors who were lied to by Merck about the dangers of Vioxx.'
The verdict sent Vioxx shares down 3 percent in late trading Wednesday evening."
Booyah!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
A Brief and Humorous History of Medicine
courtesy of Alternative Biotechnology:
~ A Brief and Humorous History of Medicine ~
100,000 BC: This mixture of roots and leaves will cure you.
2000 BC: Roots don't work. If you're sick, sacrifice a goat.
0050 AD: Sacrifice is for pagans! If you want to get well, you must pray.
1000 AD: Prayer is just superstition. Some blood-letting will do you good.
1870 AD: Blood-letting weakens the patient. This potion will fix you up.
1920 AD: Potions are pure quackery. Here, swallow this pill.
1950 AD: Pills don't work. Now we have antibiotics.
2000 AD: Antibiotics can cause more harm than good. Here, apply these roots and leaves.
~ A Brief and Humorous History of Medicine ~
100,000 BC: This mixture of roots and leaves will cure you.
2000 BC: Roots don't work. If you're sick, sacrifice a goat.
0050 AD: Sacrifice is for pagans! If you want to get well, you must pray.
1000 AD: Prayer is just superstition. Some blood-letting will do you good.
1870 AD: Blood-letting weakens the patient. This potion will fix you up.
1920 AD: Potions are pure quackery. Here, swallow this pill.
1950 AD: Pills don't work. Now we have antibiotics.
2000 AD: Antibiotics can cause more harm than good. Here, apply these roots and leaves.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Some good "seal hunt activism" points
Check out this Victoria news column.
"If we're to ban the seal hunt on the basis of cruelty, by the same logic shouldn't we ban the slaughter of cows and pigs? The activists will argue that baby seals are defenceless animals. So was the chicken I had for dinner last night, but I don't see the pro-poultry lobby picketing my house."
"Taking the concept one step further, we have disclaimers on tuna cans declaring the product inside "dolphin free." Everyone's worried about harming innocent dolphins, but nobody seems to care about the tuna. Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-dolphin. I'm just pro-tuna."
Cute ... and true.
"If we're to ban the seal hunt on the basis of cruelty, by the same logic shouldn't we ban the slaughter of cows and pigs? The activists will argue that baby seals are defenceless animals. So was the chicken I had for dinner last night, but I don't see the pro-poultry lobby picketing my house."
"Taking the concept one step further, we have disclaimers on tuna cans declaring the product inside "dolphin free." Everyone's worried about harming innocent dolphins, but nobody seems to care about the tuna. Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-dolphin. I'm just pro-tuna."
Cute ... and true.
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