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A five year probe of Forest Laboratories by the U.S. Justice Department into illegal marketing of Lexapro to children has an ironic twist to it: The FDA just approved the use of Lexapro for depression in children.

“Federal health care programs have paid thousands of false and fraudulent claims for Celexa and Lexapro prescriptions that were not covered for off-label pediatric use and/or were ineligible for payment as a result of illegal kickbacks paid by Forest.”

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The company making the beer is a supporter of the National Confederation of Coca Farmers, a group that advocates for more organized production of coca plants. The beer is named Apu, and is already sold in southeastern cities of Peru like Cusco, the well-known gateway city to legendary Machu Picchu.

But wait… don’t draw any conclusions yet. According to the source of this information, the online news source Living in Peru, spokespeople for the group say “The goal is to demonstrate that coca leaves are not cocaine…the plant should be industrialized to avoid the production of cocaine.”

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The famous “waggle” dance of honey bees is a complex language that allows foraging bees to communicate the distance, direction and quality of a food source to the rest of the hive. The study showed that honey bees on cocaine tend to dance more, without relation to the quality of food or state of the hive. Given the effects of cocaine on people, hyperactivity may seem like a fairly obvious reaction. However, the implications of the study suggest something that has not been found before: a reward system in the insect brain.

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The concentrations of antidepressants in the water—billionths of a gram per liter—aren’t enough to affect larger species, but they are enough to make small fish and fish babies feel woozy. Researcher Meghan McGee tested the effect of antidepressants on young minnows by exposing unhatched and newly-hatched minnows to levels of antidepressants commonly found downstream of water treatment plants. The drugged minnows appeared lethargic and took twice as long to react to stimulus, making them much more vulnerable to predators.

Larger fish feed on the smaller fish and then…

Image:  The Jamoker on Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Washington, DC’s Metro system recently enacted a random police search policy for its riders, citing increased security concerns for the decision. But in reality, the new policy does nothing to protect people from terrorist attacks and pushes people away from public transit and into cars.

Which is the bigger threat: a terrorist attack on a train or the greenhouse gases that spew from cars stuck in rush hour traffic?

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Can we afford to have our government fornicating with big oil when the integrity of our planet is at stake? Most definitely not. Palin’s record is already dirty enough to warrant a trip to the free clinic, and that’s just as Governor! What is she capable of if elected as VP?

From Think Progress

Palin’s Lobbyist Had ‘Close Ties’ To Don Young, Ted Stevens. “As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska’s most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts.” [9/2/08]

Palin’s Lobbyist Was Part Of ‘Team Abramoff.’ Steven Silver, the lobbyist Palin hired as Wasilla Mayor, also listed Jack Abramoff’s lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, as a client. Silver lobbied on issues similar to those headed up by Abramoff, including “Indian/Native American policy” and “legislation relating to gaming issues.” [TPMmuckracker, 9/2/08; Washington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin Served As Director Of ‘Ted Stevens Excellence In Public Service’ 527. Palin’s name was listed on 2003 incorporation papers of the “Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.,” a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. She also “served as one of three directors until June 2005, when her name was replaced on state filings.” [Washington Post, 9/1/08]

State Employee Charged Palin With Ethics Violation. A state employee filed an ethics complaint alleging Palin tried to secure a job for one of her supporters. The complaint accused Palin and her top staffers of “breaking executive ethics branch and hiring rules. It centers on the hiring of surveyor Tom Lamal, who once co-hosted a Palin fundraiser, for a state right-of-way agent job in Fairbanks.” [Anchorage Daily News, 9/7/08]

Palin Forced Top Wasilla Employees To Resign As Loyalty Test. As Mayor of Wasilla in 1998, “asked all of the city’s top managers to resign in order to test their loyalty to her administration.”[Daily Sitka Sentenial, 10/28/06]

Palin Fired Police Chief For Not Fully Supporting Her. After becoming Mayor of Wasilla, Palin fired the city’s police chief, Irl Stambaugh, writing, “I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment.” Stambaugh charged that Palin fired him “because he stepped on the toes of Palin’s campaign contributors, including bar owners and the National Rifle Association.” [Anchorage Daily News, 2/1/97; ABC News, 9/3/08]

Palin Used Mayoral Office Resources For Campaigning. During her 2002 campaign for lieutenant governor, Palin ordered campaign materials from City Hall, had them delivered there, and used city employees on city-aid time to arrange campaign events. According to the Anchorage Daily News, there was “no indication she repaid the city for the incidental expenses the city incurred.” [Anchorage Daily News, 7/21/06]

Palin Billed Taxpayers For Nights Spent At Home. Palin billed the state for “312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.” She also charged for travel expenses to take her children and husband on “official out-of-town missions.” [Washington Post, 9/9/08]

Related posts:

Sex, Lies and Oilgate: A Crude Analysis (Part One)
McCain’s 13-Car Footprint
Setting the Record Straight: Sarah Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere

Image source: Anderson Mancini on Flickr

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Hundreds of retired miners die every year from black lung, a disease which has haunted coal workers since the early days of the profession. Miners are outraged that the government entity which is supposed to protect their safety seemingly holds little concern for the impact that the job has on their health, yet has decided to make their marijuana habits an issue worth tackling.

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A new report says that Big Oil enticed U.S. government employees with sex, drugs, and other “improper” gifts.

If any doubt was left about the complicit corruption of current U.S. energy policy, a report released earlier today by the Interior Department’s inspector general stated that U.S. government employees received what they politely called “improper gifts” from 4 major oil and gas companies.

The $5.3 million dollar investigation found “recreational marijuana and cocaine use” by “a handful” of Interior Department staff and that two federal employees “engaged in brief sexual relationships with representatives from companies doing business” with the department.

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That’s an awful lot of chemically-laced poop and pee (as we say in my house) being flushed each year. For some reason when the story broke it didn’t hit home to me. I don’t live in a metropolis, but as I stood there with that sippy cup I realized I don’t want my son drinking birth control pills, no matter what the dosage level. And what if he had been exposed to this when he was an infant?

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First of all DON'T FLUSH IT. We got into this habit in order to keep the medications out of greedy little hands, but our rivers and streams and fish are getting seriously messed up through this practice. In fact, even when the drugs are placed into the trash, they can wind up getting into the environment.

So what's the solution? Well, there isn't a great one yet, which is why a grant has just been awarded to start dealing with "prudent disposal of unwanted medications". The money will be used to develop
mail back" and "take back" pilot programs.

In the meantime, there are some things that you can do, according to the Harvard Heart Letter.

1. Check with your pharmacy to see if they can take back medications.
2. Check with your city or state to see if there are any disposal or donation programs in place.
3. If you have to throw them out, scratch out your name/personal info but leave the label on. Next, make the drugs undesirable.
   1. Make dry medications wet. Inside the original waterproof/childproof containers, add a little bit of water and close tight.
   2. Make wet medications dry. Add kitty litter or flour to the bottle.
   3. Put medicine container inside another container like an empty tub of margarine or paper bag.

Rebecca says: I really wasn't sure of how I should deal with medicines until I started researching this. It makes sense. The medicines must be super sealed so that they don't leak into the environment and they must be "ruined" and hidden for safety reasons. I'm looking forward to these grants that will hopefully create a much better disposal situation for us all.