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Accused of hiding drug dangers again, Big Pharma starts 2008 defending ...
Comparative Effectiveness of Treatments to Prevent Fractures in Men and Women with Low Bone Density or Osteoporosis in the February 8 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. They did find the newer drugs can have serious side effects such as strokes, blood clots in the lungs or bleeding in the uterus (a January 15 Journal of Rheumatology paper finds oral bisphosphonate drugs nearly triple the risk of developing bone necrosis) and that "data are insufficient to determine the relative efficacy or safety" of all the studied drugs. Some will notice the antidepressant article in the New England Journal of Medicine and bone drug article in the Annals of Internal Medicine are unusually short. They lack the obligatory six inches of drug company financial support to the researchers which most journal articles show at the end.
European firms face Y2K legal chaos in wake of Good Samaritan Act
A US law could turn the wrath of Y2K litigation on European companies. President Clinton signed the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act - dubbed the Good Samaritan Act - into law on 19 October. The act grants US companies limited immunity from Y2K litigation. Businesses will be able to nominate certain past statements about their Y2K preparedness and the compliance of their products, which can't then be used against the company in a future lawsuit. European companies need to move fast to take advantage of the Act though. Those who do business with US companies or operate in the US must nominate any qualifying statements by 3 December. "The implications for US businesses are colossal, absolutely colossal," explained Tony Lewis, chief executive of the CSSA.
Paul W. Smith
I'll miss GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who has withdrawn from the race. I stepped off the plane from Chicago (broadcasting from the Chicago Regional Auto Show) and was given the word. I was shocked. I guess I might have been more shocked that it happened now, rather than that it happened. It seemed to be a matter of time, but I thought there was more campaigning left. I still don't understand the apparent disconnect between Republicans and conservatives. I realize the gap between being a Republican and being a conservative is wider than ever. Not as wide as, say, a river, but more like, oh, maybe a Bush. • According to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll, President Bush has reached his lowest approval rating with 30 percent of those polled saying they are happy with the job he's doing (overall) as president; he apparently is also at an all-time low in his support among Republicans.
Britney Spears' Extreme Make-Under
Britney Spears showed off the disappointing results of an intensive home make-over session during a trip to Millenium dance studio over the weekend. Last week, it was widely reported that celebrity colourist and Extreme Makeover consultant, Kim Vo, spent 4 hours at the troubled singer’s L.A. home working on her neglected tresses. However, judging by Brit’s bedraggled appearance on Saturday, 4 hours wasn’t nearly enough time to tease the pop wreck’s weave into something resembling a decent hairstyle. Sporting ripped fish-nets, tacky red hotpants, a stained top and her usual bedraggled mop, braless Brit hit Millenium with dad Jamie for numerous cigarette breaks, punctuated by a spot of dance practice. People quoted Vo as saying of his Brit assignment: "Britney needed some help with her extensions and wanted to talk about a new color.
Brian Roberts could put Cubs over the top
One of them is one of the all-time great liars. Baseball spring training camps open this month and some big-name free agents are jobless and might have to swallow some pride to prolong their careers and sign for much less than they're accustomed to. They include Barry Bonds, Armando Benitez, Mike Piazza, Kenny Lofton, Shannon Stewart, Livan Hernandez, Sammy Sosa, Bartolo Colon, Shawn Green, Corey Patterson and Tony Clark. If they can't find jobs, Bonds, Sosa, perhaps Clemens and Piazza all would be on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot. It would be a very impressive group if they all were "clean." But Piazza is the only one who hasn't been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.
Billionaire Rochester sportsman Tom Golisano over the weekend reiterated that he's prepared to do what he can to keep the Buffalo Bills in western New York.
Heroes & Villains: We Want It That Way
We're kvelling like Boca Raton bubbes down at the Bat Cave this week. It turns out that one of the HEROES of NBC's resurrected American Gladiators series went to Cornell, proving once again that Cornell is the only Ivy that offers a practical, real-world education. According to our most favoritest informants, the HEROIC revival of the awesomely cheesy American Gladiators features HEROIC Real Live Alumna Jaime Reed '01 kicking ass and taking names as the be-scrunchied gladiatrix, “Fury." The Gladiators, incidentally, are a clear sign that the '80s are the number one decade for dancing around in your underwear. Risky Business, anyone? Reed's scrunchie in particular, and the show's revival in general, make us hope that the '80s have, at long last, jumped the shark, paving the way — in our darkest fantasies — for the HEROIC return of Power Rangers, Oval Office oral, and flannel.
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