What makes ya better...makes me sick!

Yeah...like the title? Well the title is a twist on medicine(s) and how the whole medical industry is twisted...makes most people ill when they read some of the information that is out there. I will start by saying this article at BMJ that I linked to from Slashdot about intellectual property and medical research is a great read and gets one thinking...wanting to know more. The article in essence, at least what I got from it, was about how the intellectual property claim(s) that the pharmaceutical companies are making seem to really make the availability of said drugs to poorer populations impossible and that it also makes innovation of drugs and cures impossible or harder to develop...because these companies are hiding their cards in essence, which is stifling advancements in all areas (i.e. Cancer research, AIDS medicines, and so on...). Most would think that sharing of knowledge is a good thing that would stimulate research and eventually lead to new medicines or cures. However, that is not profitable to one corporation for their "name brand" version of a given medicine. ICK...just read it...makes me ill...or at least that "The Man" is giving it to me again :P I would suggest the BMJ article and then read some of the Slashdot comments...good stuff.

Some of the comments at Slashdot were so good I ended up at OpenSecrets looking at how much in contributions the different sectors of the medical field has made to the political parties and even individual senators...that just puts me over the edge. Read on for yourselves as I might start getting nasty. I will say it goes to prove that we the U.S. seem more than ever to be a government for the corporation and less about the people...since of course...money talks volumes in Washington.

I have to quote Ed Halley(Speare) and his comment on Slashdot:

If there's one area where I think Eminent Domain applies, it is to this sort of "property." If the pharmaceutacals "own" a cancer drug, an AIDS drug, a heart valve palsy drug, then fucking TAKE it from them and give it to the world. If they have to be compensated under eminent domain laws, then give them a twenty year extension on their stupid penis pills, their fat-buster pills, or their toenail fungus cures. If they can do it with your house to make a bypass, then they should be able to do it with something that will really benefit society.

I couldn't agree more...I have hot linked the stories in the article...but I am also linking them below:
Slashdot "Nobel Laureate Attacks Medical Intellectual Property"
BMJ "Scrooge and Intellectual Property Rights"
OpenSecrets "Long-Term Contribution Trends from Pharmaceuticals/Health Products" (browse the site for more information)
OpenSecrets "Top 20 Recipients Of These Contributions"