Suggested Reading -- 8/15/07

Médecins Sans Frontières: Indian Court Ruling in Novartis Case Protects India as the 'Pharmacy of the Developing World'

From the story: "The landmark decision by the High Court in Chennai to uphold India's Patents Act in the face of the challenge by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is a major victory for patients' access to affordable medicines in developing countries, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stated today."

At issue was indian patent law that made generic drugs a cheap alternative for third world nations (indian patents can only be granted to real innovations, not tweaks to existing products, making older versions of drugs patent-free). Novartis' suit was broadly criticized as callous and example of the profit-above-all attitude of big pharma and the corporations-above-people attitude of international trade organizations like the WTO. It's good to see the people take this win.

Think Progress: Petraeus' September Report Will Be Written By The White House

From the story: "...Despite Bush's repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government."

Hell, my money's on the bet that it's already written.

Tondan: Soldier Who Captured Saddam is Sick, But Left to Rot By VA

From the story: "...One VA psychologist diagnosed [Army Spec. Jeans] Cruz with post-traumatic stress disorder. His condition was labeled 'severe and chronic.' In a letter supporting his request for PTSD-related disability pay, the psychologist wrote that Cruz was 'in need of major help' and that he had provided 'more than enough evidence' to back up his PTSD claim. His combat experiences, the letter said, 'have been well documented.' ...None of that seemed to matter when his case reached VA disability evaluators. They turned him down flat, ruling that he deserved no compensation because his psychological problems existed before he joined the Army. They also said that Cruz had not proved he was ever in combat."

Shameful.

Agence France-Presse: 200 massacred in Iraq suicide truck bombings

From the story: "Rescuers dug through the rubble of devastated Iraqi communities on Wednesday after suicide bombers killed more than 200 members of a minority sect in the bloodiest spate of attacks of the war...

"'Everything was destroyed. Houses, buildings, shops. It was horrible. There was a huge number of casualties bleeding all over the place. There were pieces of flesh everywhere. It was a tragedy. Dead people everywhere,' [army Captain Jalal Mohammed] said."

Making progress...

ABC News, The Blotter: DOD Stops Plan to Send Christian Video Game to Troops in Iraq

From the story: "Plans by a Christian group to send an evangelical video game to U.S. troops in Iraq were abruptly halted yesterday by the Department of Defense after ABC News inquired about the program...

"'It's a horrible game,' said the Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians Alliance for Progress. 'You either kill or covert the other side. This is exactly what the Osama bin Ladens of the world have portrayed us [as].'"

Score one for the good guys.

TPMMuckraker: Experts Question Legality, Ethics Of Young's Earmark

From the story: "Rep. Don Young (R-AK) has taken the political art form to an ethically questionable level that even some experts in the trenches have never seen. In 2005, Young waited until after the House and Senate passed a transportation bill, but before the president signed it into law, to rewrite a passage that would have granted $10 million for an interstate in Florida. His new wording targeted the money to a much smaller, more specific project to connect Coconut Road to that interstate. It's an unpopular project in the area, but a boon for real estate developer Daniel Aronoff, who held a $40,000 fundraiser for Young in Florida just before the earmark appeared."

Alaska, America's home of corrupt Republican pricks.