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Myriad Loses Patent to Breast Cancer Genetic Test
Richard Smallteacher
June 13th, 2013
Myriad Genetics has lost its right to be the exclusive U.S. commercial provider of genetic screening tests for breast cancer or ovarian cancer. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued the company, claimed that the patent would limit scientific research as well as health care options for women.
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 | | DNA sequence exhibit at the Science Museum in London. Photo by John Goode. Used under Creative Commons license. |
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Google & Facebook Discussed Secret Systems for U.S. to Spy on Users
Pratap Chatterjee
June 8th, 2013
Google and Facebook have discussed – and possibly built – special portals for the U.S. government to snoop on user data, according to revelations sparked by an investigative series of articles by Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian.
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 | | James Clapper (far left) Martin Dempsey (3rd from left) at Defense Intelligence Agency ceremony. Photo: D. Myles Cullen for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Used under Creative Commons license. |
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Cat and Mouse Game for Wall Street Hedge Fund
Richard Smallteacher
June 4th, 2013
Steve Cohen, the billionaire founder of the most profitable hedge fund in history with $15 billion in assets averaging 30 percent in annual profits for two decades, has become the most watched man on Wall Street. Will he lose all his outside investors and will he go to jail?
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 | | Cartoon by Khalil Bendib |
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Lobbyists for Canadian Pipeline Have Deep Ties to White House
Pratap Chatterjee
May 31st, 2013
TransCanada and the provincial government of Alberta are paying former advisors to the Obama administration - as well as former staff of the Hillary Clinton and John Kerry presidential campaigns - to help them lobby for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to transport tar sands fuel to the U.S.
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 | | Syncrude Tar Sands Mining Operations. Photo by David Dodge, The Pembina Institute |
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Spinneys Lebanon Criticized for Labor Practices
Richard Smallteacher
May 28th, 2013
Charbel Nahas, the former Lebanese labor minister, is to appear before a court next month on charges of publishing incorrect information, slander and libel over the labor practices of Spinneys, the Dubai-based Middle Eastern supermarket chain.
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 | | Spinneys supermarket in Cairo. Photo: Asim Bharwani. Used under Creative Commons license. |
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Verizon (and Google) Helped U.S. Government to Spy on Reporters
Pratap Chatterjee
May 23rd, 2013
Technology companies willingly provided information to U.S. government agencies to help the Obama administration snoop on reporters from the Associated Press and Fox news in order to ostensibly crack down on leaks that pose a “threat” to national security.
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 | | CorpWatch cartoon by Khalil Bendib |
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H&M Responds Slowly to Bangladesh Factory Collapse Killing 1,100
Puck Lo
May 19th, 2013
H&M (Hennes & Mauritz), a major Swedish “fast fashion” retailer, led 30 international companies this week to commit to a new $3 billion fund to improve the safety of garment factories in Bangladesh. Watchdog organizations say the companies acted only because of external pressure by activists and workers.
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 | | Protest advertisement designed by Avaaz |
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Ranbaxy Pays $500 Million Fine for Selling Bad Batches of Generic Medicines
Pratap Chatterjee
May 14th, 2013
Ranbaxy, a subsidiary of Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo, has paid a $500 million fine and pled guilty to selling adulterated drugs manufactured in India. The settlement comes 16 months after the company signed an agreement with U.S. authorities to change its ways.
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 | | Pills. Photo: e-magineart.com. Used under Creative Commons license |
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