I’m back in the USA.
The trip to Sweden to launch the first foreign edition of "The Whistleblower" was a bit more intense than I expected. Which is, of course, a good thing.
If you want to watch all the interviews, in pure Swedish, go here:
http://sjukapengar.blogspot.com/
In fact, it was so intense that I’ve been asked to come back in a month and do more interviews. The book started out at the #3 spot on bestseller lists and is still in the top 10. Can’t complain about that.
I even had an interview with an international recruiting firm in Stockholm, with someone who specializes in getting board members for various Swedish companies. That would certainly be interesting.
But if the business world doesn’t welcome me back, I guess I’ll just have to continue to write. Question is if I should focus more time on the blog or on my next book.
All those tough decisions to make . . .
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
"The Whistleblower" in Italy . . .
Target date for launch: End of February
Titel: GLOBAL PHARMA, Confessioni di un insider dell’industria farmaceutica
Monday, January 29, 2007
Pharmalot: Go there!
New Jersey's Star Ledger has started a new venture: http://www.pharmalot.com/
Pharmalot is a web site focusing on short, interesting, almost gossipy drug company news. So it is exactly what readers really want to read. And they have a full-time pro running the show:
Ed Silverman, one of the best healthcare journalists in the country.
This will be interesting to follow. And I think eminent PharmaGossip just got a very professional competitor. That must be flattering. I just added the new site to my browser links . . .
Pharmalot is a web site focusing on short, interesting, almost gossipy drug company news. So it is exactly what readers really want to read. And they have a full-time pro running the show:
Ed Silverman, one of the best healthcare journalists in the country.
This will be interesting to follow. And I think eminent PharmaGossip just got a very professional competitor. That must be flattering. I just added the new site to my browser links . . .
Friday, January 26, 2007
THE WHISTLEBLOWER #3 IN SWEDEN FIRST DAY OF SALES
THE WHISTLEBLOWER/”SJUKA PENGAR” (SICK MONEY) #3 AMONG TOP SELLING INTERNET BOOKS
Here are links to TV/radio news re. ”The Whistleblower” in Sweden: TV2 Aktuellt, TV4 Ekonominyheterna, TV8 Finansnytt och P1 Vetandets Värld: http://sjukapengar.blogspot.com/
Also, persons identifying themselves as Pfizer employees are filling the comment sections after certain articles, such as this one, with allegations that Peter Rost was responsible for the unlawful conduct he reported.
This, of course, is exactly in line with what Mr. Paul Fitzhenry, Pfizer spokesperson said to the New York Times back in 2005: "Mr. Fitzhenry also remarked that Mr. Rost had been the vice president in charge of marketing genotropin at Pfizer, so that he was essentially blowing the whistle on his own conduct."
The libelous comments, if truly made by Pfizer employees as claimed, may indicate an internal state of panic. Meanwhile, Pfizer has refused to officially comment on the Swedish book launch.
Translation below: The Bokus top ten—the books selling best right now:
Here are links to TV/radio news re. ”The Whistleblower” in Sweden: TV2 Aktuellt, TV4 Ekonominyheterna, TV8 Finansnytt och P1 Vetandets Värld: http://sjukapengar.blogspot.com/
Also, persons identifying themselves as Pfizer employees are filling the comment sections after certain articles, such as this one, with allegations that Peter Rost was responsible for the unlawful conduct he reported.
This, of course, is exactly in line with what Mr. Paul Fitzhenry, Pfizer spokesperson said to the New York Times back in 2005: "Mr. Fitzhenry also remarked that Mr. Rost had been the vice president in charge of marketing genotropin at Pfizer, so that he was essentially blowing the whistle on his own conduct."
The libelous comments, if truly made by Pfizer employees as claimed, may indicate an internal state of panic. Meanwhile, Pfizer has refused to officially comment on the Swedish book launch.
Translation below: The Bokus top ten—the books selling best right now:
Thursday, January 25, 2007
First day with media in Sweden, launching "Sjuka Pengar"
The first day in Stockholm launching the Swedish translation of "The Whistleblower" has been great.
Interviews with all the key television news shows; Rapport, Aktuellt, TV4 News, TV8 Finansnytt, Dagens Industri webTV, major newspaper such as Dagens Nyheter and Affärsvärlden. Also a key radio progam, Vetandets värld 2007-01-25, which you can already listen to here:
"Peter Rost - mannen som kritiserade läkemedelsindustrin inifrån." Redaktör: Lena Nordlund Link: SR_p1_vetandets_varld_070125010031.mp3
Interviews with all the key television news shows; Rapport, Aktuellt, TV4 News, TV8 Finansnytt, Dagens Industri webTV, major newspaper such as Dagens Nyheter and Affärsvärlden. Also a key radio progam, Vetandets värld 2007-01-25, which you can already listen to here:
"Peter Rost - mannen som kritiserade läkemedelsindustrin inifrån." Redaktör: Lena Nordlund Link: SR_p1_vetandets_varld_070125010031.mp3
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
SJUKA PENGAR - BOKEN SOM PFIZER FÖRSÖKTE STOPPA*
För dig som vill läsa mer om "Sjuka Pengar" klicka här, så kan du se amerikanska TV/radio och tidningsintervjuer med författaren.* "Dr. Peter Rost, author of The Whistleblower – Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman, today revealed that Pfizer has asked the US District Court, NY, to advise on relief and for sanctions against Dr. Rost for writing The Whistleblower …."
Läs mer på http://www.prwebdirect.com/releases/2006/9/prweb439408.htm
(Sorry guys, this is just for my Swedish audience . . . the book is launched in Sweden on January 25.)
Whistleblowing 101: a living breathing case study
Cutting Edge Information (CEI), a leader in pharmaceutical business intelligence, provides guidance on how to overcome many of these complexities through its extensive pharmaceutical marketing report library.
Here is one of eminent PharmaGossip's suggestions for a great module: "The Whistleblower."
Thank you Insider, and perhaps that is something I could spend some time working on?
But would any drug company hire me to talk about this?
I'm not sure they're smart enough to do that, after all, they like to behave like ostriches.
Here is one of eminent PharmaGossip's suggestions for a great module: "The Whistleblower."
Thank you Insider, and perhaps that is something I could spend some time working on?
But would any drug company hire me to talk about this?I'm not sure they're smart enough to do that, after all, they like to behave like ostriches.
I'm in Stockholm . . .
. . . this week, launching the Swedish edition of "The Whistleblower." It's called "Sjuka Pengar" or "Sick Money," since whistleblower doesn't translate well.
The schedule is packed with television, radio and other news media interviews over three days, so a good start.
And Pfizer has finally learned how to handle the situation. Instead of writing angry letters to each radio and TV show, the way they used to do this, which created additional attention, they are now ignoring me.
The first journalist I met from Swedish Radio told me she'd called Pfizer in Sweden and they told her things are so different in the U.S. that my book doesn't impact them. She also called Pfizer in the U.S. and they told her my book was a flop in the U.S., so they couldn't care less.
The irony is, of course, that Pfizer didn't take this position until after they brought the book to Court and after I thanked them for helping me with the publicity.
And of course, Pfizer didn't mention that the book made #333 on Amazon and the entire first U.S. printing has left my publisher without any returns so far . . . oh well, at least it is nice to see that they are maturing over at Big Blue. The way they behaved initially must have had their PR advisors in tears.
By the way, this is what Stockholm looks like right now. Soooooooooooo beautiful it is almost painful.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
If this happened in New York . . .
. . . the participants would probably be arrested and both the TV crew and the police would be sued. I guess it wouldn't happen in New York:
More Peter Rost?
The oustanding blog PharmaGossip has an interesting poll going.
One option is "More Peter Rost."
Get over there everyone and vote!
One option is "More Peter Rost."
Get over there everyone and vote!
Pfizer CEO eliminates Karen Katen executives
Peter Brandt is the most recent senior management casualty at Pfizer. This 49-year old executive is "retiring" after only six months heading up the U.S. pharmaceutical operation for Pfizer.
Mr. Brandt was promoted from executive vice president of U.S. pharmaceuticals to president as recently as August 15, 2006, when his boss, Pat Kelly, was asked to "look at other career opportunities within Pfizer." Mr. Kelly didn't find any such opportunities and left the company December 31, 2006.
Mr. Kelly's departure appears to have been closely linked to Vice Chairman Karen Katen's decision to "reflect on both her professional and personal goals," and to leave the company to pursue "other opportunities."
Mr. Kindler has now eradicated almost the entire senior U.S marketing team that was in place when he took over as CEO in July 2006. The only person left is Marie-Caroline Sainpy, who is Senior Vice President U.S. Pharmaceuticals marketing and worldwide commercial development. Ms. Sainpy reported to both Brandt and Reed.
Marketing is not the only area affected by Mr. Kindler's broom. He has also appointed Mary McLeod to replace Sylvia Montero, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, who "retired" in January 2007. Ms. McLeod is part of Pfizer's Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to Mr. Kindler.
Two more "retirements" are Kathy Donovan, Vice President Human Resources, and Beth Levine, general counsel of U.S. pharmaceuticals.
Pfizer's internal rumor mill claims anyone connected with Karen Katen risks losing his/her job.
Mr. Brandt was promoted from executive vice president of U.S. pharmaceuticals to president as recently as August 15, 2006, when his boss, Pat Kelly, was asked to "look at other career opportunities within Pfizer." Mr. Kelly didn't find any such opportunities and left the company December 31, 2006.
Mr. Kelly's departure appears to have been closely linked to Vice Chairman Karen Katen's decision to "reflect on both her professional and personal goals," and to leave the company to pursue "other opportunities."
Mr. Kindler has now eradicated almost the entire senior U.S marketing team that was in place when he took over as CEO in July 2006. The only person left is Marie-Caroline Sainpy, who is Senior Vice President U.S. Pharmaceuticals marketing and worldwide commercial development. Ms. Sainpy reported to both Brandt and Reed.
Marketing is not the only area affected by Mr. Kindler's broom. He has also appointed Mary McLeod to replace Sylvia Montero, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, who "retired" in January 2007. Ms. McLeod is part of Pfizer's Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to Mr. Kindler.
Two more "retirements" are Kathy Donovan, Vice President Human Resources, and Beth Levine, general counsel of U.S. pharmaceuticals.
Pfizer's internal rumor mill claims anyone connected with Karen Katen risks losing his/her job.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Pfizer CEO announces 10,000 job cuts and Wyeth CEO warns against "arrogance."
Pfizer's CEO, Jeff Kindler, just announced that the company will cut 10,000 jobs around the world and slash annual costs by up to $2 billion by 2008. This amounts to 10 percent of Pfizer's worldwide workforce, on top of a previously announced plan to cut costs by $4 billion a year by 2008. So a total cost reduction of $6 billion.
Pfizer said it will close a production site in Brooklyn, New York, a plant in Omaha, Nebraska, and research operations in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, Michigan; Nagoya, Japan; and Amboise, France. The total number of plants will be reduced to 48 in 2008 from 93 in 2003.
Meanwhile, Wyeth's CEO Robert Essner, was quoted in the WSJ today, saying: "No company has ever been No. 1 in this industry two decades in a row -- or two decades ever. In most industries there's some movement, but not the kind of rise and fall that you see in this industry. One problem is this sense of entitlement -- believing that you've kind of got it figured out. But all it is is that the guy before you was pretty good at discovering a few brilliant drugs. How do you become great and not become complacent, not become comfortable, not become arrogant, not think that you're entitled to success?"
Some in the drug industry think the Pfizer organization might learn from Mr. Essner's sentiment. As for me, I think this is the beginning to Pfizer's downsizing, not the end. Pfizer will be forced to make significant additional cuts over the years to come and we will continue to be disappointed by Pfizer's feeble attempts to launch new drugs.
The 80/20 rule is well and alive in the drug industry in general and at Pfizer in particular. 20% of the efforts generate 80% of the results, but the 80% aren't cut because management isn't sure of what is really going on in the organization.
Pfizer has grown into an arrogant organization that thinks it walks on water. But now reality is starting to set in. In my opinion, Mr. Essner expressed what that reality is inside Pfizer.
Pfizer said it will close a production site in Brooklyn, New York, a plant in Omaha, Nebraska, and research operations in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, Michigan; Nagoya, Japan; and Amboise, France. The total number of plants will be reduced to 48 in 2008 from 93 in 2003.
Meanwhile, Wyeth's CEO Robert Essner, was quoted in the WSJ today, saying: "No company has ever been No. 1 in this industry two decades in a row -- or two decades ever. In most industries there's some movement, but not the kind of rise and fall that you see in this industry. One problem is this sense of entitlement -- believing that you've kind of got it figured out. But all it is is that the guy before you was pretty good at discovering a few brilliant drugs. How do you become great and not become complacent, not become comfortable, not become arrogant, not think that you're entitled to success?"
Some in the drug industry think the Pfizer organization might learn from Mr. Essner's sentiment. As for me, I think this is the beginning to Pfizer's downsizing, not the end. Pfizer will be forced to make significant additional cuts over the years to come and we will continue to be disappointed by Pfizer's feeble attempts to launch new drugs.
The 80/20 rule is well and alive in the drug industry in general and at Pfizer in particular. 20% of the efforts generate 80% of the results, but the 80% aren't cut because management isn't sure of what is really going on in the organization.
Pfizer has grown into an arrogant organization that thinks it walks on water. But now reality is starting to set in. In my opinion, Mr. Essner expressed what that reality is inside Pfizer.
Canadian Internet pharmacies oppose drug reimportation . . . !
"Canadian pharmacies are ready and able to service a mail-order program for uninsured patients. But opening a global trade for bulk drugs is simply not sustainable - it could jeopardize existing therapies to millions of Americans," says Barney Britton, President of Minit Drugs.
Here is press release.
So . . . what's up?
Simple. Canadian Internet pharmacies currently make their living off the fact that drug reimportation is not legal in the US.
If bulk drug importation would become legal, the Canadian Internet pharmacies wouldn't do the sales--various wholesalers would make the big bucks.
So, they don't mind the status quo.
Here is press release.
So . . . what's up?
Simple. Canadian Internet pharmacies currently make their living off the fact that drug reimportation is not legal in the US.
If bulk drug importation would become legal, the Canadian Internet pharmacies wouldn't do the sales--various wholesalers would make the big bucks.
So, they don't mind the status quo.
SJUKA PENGAR LANSERAS I SVERIGE
Dags för den svenska översättningen av "The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman":
Den heter "Sjuka Pengar, En svensk insider skakar läkemedelsindustrin".
För mer information gå till hemsidan för boken här.
Den heter "Sjuka Pengar, En svensk insider skakar läkemedelsindustrin".
För mer information gå till hemsidan för boken här.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Black Monday at Pfizer: Newspapers already announce job cuts
In a somewhat morbid news circus, newspapers are already announcing the job cuts at Pfizer, click here.
Blog war: Cafe Pharma vs. Pharma Marketing
An interesting little fight has erupted between Cafe Pharma and Pharma Marketing.
Click here to learn Pharma Marketing's position and Cafe Pharma's response.
Click here to learn Pharma Marketing's position and Cafe Pharma's response.
Black Monday coming up at Pfizer . . . Italy starts early: Strike
| PFIZER REP'S STRIKE AGAINST 440 LAY-OFFS IN ITALY | |
MAJOR PFIZER LAYOFFS EXPECTED AROUND THE WORLD. SALES REPS STRIKE IN ITALY ON JANUARY 19, 2007 . . . THAT IS A FIRST . . . WONDER IF THEY HAVE THE GUTS TO DO THAT IN THE U.S?
OR IF THEY ARE TOO CHICKEN . . .
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Video: O'Reilly vs. Colbert and Colbert vs. O'Reilly
Stephen Colbert on “The O’Reilly Factor” and Bill O’Reilly on “The Colbert Report.” Unbelievable? You can't stand one of them? Watch this.
Friday, January 19, 2007
I hate commercials. The first iPhone commercial is out!
I hate commercials. Hate, hate, hate commericals. I always turn off the sound or switch channel when those annoying pieces of sh-t pop up. So the fact that I liked this one should tell you something . . .
We finally got some snow in NJ!
But I guess some people never learn. Here's a video from Portland, two days ago. Snow tires, anyone heard of such things? Oh yeah, this is the US, we're too lazy to do that. The rest of the industrialized world with snow do change tires every winter, though. We came up with a more convenient model: SUVs.
The Jeep Waterfall
I'm pretty fed-up with advertising plastered everywhere it can be plastered. I'm almost embarassed that I once used to be an advertising executive. After all, advertising has long ago turned into human pollution.
So, if you could turn a waterfall into advertising, I guess, that would be the ultimate abuse of the world's resources . . . BUT, I have to admit, what Jeep has done here, is very, very cool, and Jeep is, after all, a cool brand:
So, if you could turn a waterfall into advertising, I guess, that would be the ultimate abuse of the world's resources . . . BUT, I have to admit, what Jeep has done here, is very, very cool, and Jeep is, after all, a cool brand:
Hottest anonymous guitar player . . .
Until he was outed after an investigation by the New York Times and the world learned the name: Jeong-Hyun Lim, a self-taught 23-year-old from Seoul, Korea.
Why did anyone care?
Just listen to a mind-blowing rock rendition of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D.
Lim's video, simply titled "guitar":
Why did anyone care?
Just listen to a mind-blowing rock rendition of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D.
Lim's video, simply titled "guitar":
OK GO: HOTTEST MUSIC VIDEO
I'm not kidding. This is one of the hottest music videos right now. Apparently the sister to one of the band members did the choreography. The music industry will never be the same again. YouTube is truly displacing the professionals at an amazing rate.
Here's their first
Here's their first
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The Shilpa Shetty Controversy
If you didn't read the New York Times article about Ms. Shetty today, or live in the UK, you can be forgiven for not knowing.
The Shilpa Shetty controversy has international ramifications involving both the British and Indian government.
“One of nature’s aristocrats, she has poise, intelligence, a moral code and occasionally diva-like ways,” the columnist Allison Pearson said of Ms. Shetty in The Daily Mail. “That can make her deeply irritating to a group of brainless girls who think that class is drinking Champagne from a glass instead of a bottle.”
Having watched the first video interview I really wonder why . . . don't girls like other girls with attitude? Oh yeah, they don't.
But if Ms. Shetty would just show the girls that hate her the second "music video" I'm sure the hate will go away and an international catastophy can be avoided. You simply can't have a catastrophy when everyone is rolling on the floor laughing.
The Shilpa Shetty controversy has international ramifications involving both the British and Indian government.
“One of nature’s aristocrats, she has poise, intelligence, a moral code and occasionally diva-like ways,” the columnist Allison Pearson said of Ms. Shetty in The Daily Mail. “That can make her deeply irritating to a group of brainless girls who think that class is drinking Champagne from a glass instead of a bottle.”
Having watched the first video interview I really wonder why . . . don't girls like other girls with attitude? Oh yeah, they don't.
But if Ms. Shetty would just show the girls that hate her the second "music video" I'm sure the hate will go away and an international catastophy can be avoided. You simply can't have a catastrophy when everyone is rolling on the floor laughing.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Joost: The next big, BIG thing on the Internet
More from Pfizer's message board: Whoa!
Read the whole thing here. I just discovered this. Quite interesting.
01-15-2007, 01:03 AM
Anonymous
Re: "THE WHISTLEBLOWER"-Conefessions of a healthcare hitman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had no idea who he was until one day my Boss brought his name up at a meeting and called him a traitor for speaking out on importation.
Then he talked about how Pfizer had shut him down by giving him no job responsibilities. He said Pfizer had physically and professionally "isolated " him.
He thought that it was very funny. He said everyone was angry and having a good laugh over Peters phantom position.
I realized what a sick company I was working for and wondered why Pfizer would think anyone in this company would ever go to corporate compliance after witnessing this. Pfizer sent a message to everyone about speaking up in this company.
01-15-2007, 01:03 AM
Anonymous
Re: "THE WHISTLEBLOWER"-Conefessions of a healthcare hitman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had no idea who he was until one day my Boss brought his name up at a meeting and called him a traitor for speaking out on importation.
Then he talked about how Pfizer had shut him down by giving him no job responsibilities. He said Pfizer had physically and professionally "isolated " him.
He thought that it was very funny. He said everyone was angry and having a good laugh over Peters phantom position.
I realized what a sick company I was working for and wondered why Pfizer would think anyone in this company would ever go to corporate compliance after witnessing this. Pfizer sent a message to everyone about speaking up in this company.
From Pfizer message board: A MUST READ
Today, 11:23 AM
Anonymous
A MUST READ "THE WHISTLEBLOWER" by EX-PFIZER VP Dr. PETER ROST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW! Has anyone else read this book??
And to think that Pfizer paints itself out to be a proud, American company. How can they say, act, and do the things they do when an employee simply voices his own political views?
Pretty scary if you ask me.
Then again this is Pfizer. We all know what happens in Pfizer when you share your opinion in Pfizer.
I wonder if thats why Jeff Kindler said in St. Louis recently that the "One thing" he would change about our company is taking away the fear people have about sharing ideas and coming forward.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm looking forward to getting a transcript of what Mr. Kindler said at that meeting . . . stay tuned.
Anonymous
A MUST READ "THE WHISTLEBLOWER" by EX-PFIZER VP Dr. PETER ROST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW! Has anyone else read this book??
And to think that Pfizer paints itself out to be a proud, American company. How can they say, act, and do the things they do when an employee simply voices his own political views?
Pretty scary if you ask me.
Then again this is Pfizer. We all know what happens in Pfizer when you share your opinion in Pfizer.
I wonder if thats why Jeff Kindler said in St. Louis recently that the "One thing" he would change about our company is taking away the fear people have about sharing ideas and coming forward.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm looking forward to getting a transcript of what Mr. Kindler said at that meeting . . . stay tuned.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The kidnapping: I'm completely perplexed.
Here is the story as told by the Daily Mail. I'm completely perplexed:
Kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck, who spent an astonishing four and a half years living with his abductor, had plenty of chances to escape, it emerged yesterday.
Friends of the 15-year-old said he was allowed to stay the night at their homes and acted like a 'normal teenager'.
The youngster was once even stopped by police on suspicion of playing truant - but made no attempt to raise the alarm.
One friend told how they watched a news report about Shawn Hornbeck's disappearance and remarked on the resemblance, but the teenager shrugged it off.
Shawn was discovered only after police in Kirkwood, Missouri, tracked another missing boy to the home of pizza parlour worker Michael Devlin.
------
The case of Shawn Hornbeck is, so far, utterly baffling.
Rescued by police from a four-year imprisonment in the house of a stranger, this normal, healthy, cheerful 15-year-old boy should be traumatised and stunted by his experience.
But he is not.
Snatched off the street when riding his bicycle at the age of 11, and almost given up for dead by his distraught parents, his ordeal-if that is what it was - has only come to light as a result of the disappearance a week ago of another youngster, Ben Ownby.
Ben's chum happened to spot the white van that abducted him, police traced the owner, and both boys were found living in a ground floor flat in Missouri belonging to 41-year-old bachelor Michael Devlin.
The obvious springs to mind. They must both have been the victims of a sexual predator, or perhaps a crazed collector, who kept them prisoners against their will.
Shawn's rescue was cause for ecstatic celebration by his family, and fascinated curiosity from the whole of America, but almost indifference from Shawn himself.
Why? Because it is evident that he has been leading something very close to a normal life and sees no reason for jubilation.
How normal is normal, one may ask. Well, for a start, he assumed the surname of his abductor and called himself Shawn Devlin.
He went skating. He went to the cinema. He rode his bike regularly. And none of this did he necessarily do alone. He had friends, notably two brothers near him in age, who came to visit and watched television with him.
They even stayed overnight, as teenage buddies do. Shawn returned the compliment, spending nights in the home of his friends, David and Tony Douglas.
Once, they saw a picture of the missing Shawn Hornbeck on the screen and remarked upon the likeness. The new Shawn Devlin shrugged and pouted, but said nothing. So nothing was done.
Mrs Douglas, the boys' mother, warmed to their friend and even took him to the zoo. It never occurred to her that he was a child in the midst of a drama, a child in need of help. And why should it have done, if there were no signs of distress?
Shawn referred to Devlin as his 'dad' and their landlord assumed they were father and son.
"The kid's bedroom didn't even have curtains on the window," he said.
Hardly the circumstances one would expect to curtail the movements of a captive.
The whole narrative is desperately mysterious, lacking any thread of reason. Did the boy change personality from one day to the next? Is that possible?
The only explanation so far offered is that this is an extreme instance of what is known as Stockholm Syndrome, whereby a captive becomes protective of his tormentor.
Because Stockholm Syndrome is inadequately understood, we should remind ourselves how it started.
In 1975, an attempted bank robbery in Stockholm stretched into a three-day siege, during the course of which an intense emotional bond evolved between the robbers and their hostages.
When the police eventually mounted a rescue mission, the hostages spotted what was about to happen and warned the robbers keeping them captive.
The police were dumbfounded by the realisation that the victims had allied themselves with the criminals.
It went further when one of the gang later became engaged to one of the bank clerks who had been his hostage.
Other similar cases merely deepen the mystery. An airline stewardess who was held at gunpoint by a hijacker subsequently spent months visiting him in prison, bearing gifts.
And the recent case of Natascha Kampusch in Austria made the problem even more vivid, with her poise and discretion upon release.
She had been a prisoner of Wolfgang Priklopil from the age of 10 to 18, her most delicate years, yet when his mother came to stay for the weekend, she kept quiet in her cell because she didn't want the woman to think ill of her son.
And when he committed suicide immediately following her escape, she blamed herself and took flowers to his coffin.
So what exactly had been going on? Was she his victim or his friend, or both? The truth is, the Stockholm situation is inherently ambiguous - it undermines moral certainties because it conflates moral opposites.
It is an expression of life in circumstances where one would expect an illustration of fury.
Psychologists have suggested that victims identify with their abductors out of fear of the violence that would ensue if they resisted. They also point to infantile regression, without explaining what this means, nor how it might be manifested.
They argue that the criminal can earn maximum reward for minimum cost by sparing the captive's life in return for cooperation, and that the captive is forever grateful thereafter.
By controlling the victim's environment, movements, access to air and light and meals, by isolating him or her from the normal world and turning a person into a possession, he imposes a severe sensory depravation which renders the victim malleable to an extreme degree.
Hence, their will is subverted and gradually conquered.
I think this analysis relies too much on preconceived notions of victimhood and control.
It does not allow room for common sense, because it assumes that Stockholm Syndrome is a oneway moral compass in which the warped views of the criminal determine the response of the captive.
In reality, the Stockholm experience must work in both directions, and the victim's compliance, his readiness to empathise, his willingness to make excuses and protect, all come from a profound human need to co-operate, to be of service and to help.
The human species has evolved precisely from those social bonds which hold us deeply beholden to one another in assistance and sympathy, and the Stockholm Syndrome is a graphic instance of these mutual needs in operation.
For his co-operation, for his refusal to be bitter, the victim earns the captor's gratitude, and feels he has done something good in his life. The captor's response to this generosity confirms his view.
Something like this must surely have happened to Natascha Kampusch, who protected her abductor from vilification and contempt, and it may have happened to Shawn Hornbeck, too.
He could well feel he has done Devlin some good in permitting him to play the role of father, and showing him respect rather than derision.
The original Stockholm victims, after all, changed character in only three days - so Shawn Hornbeck could well have done over four years.
As for the moral ambiguities, let me point to the case of a young man who was nearly murdered in 1985 by Denis Nilsen, the Muswell Hill killer, then subsequently saved by him.
Nilsen strangled this boy, then drowned him in the bath tub, then dumped the body on his bed. His pet dog recognised life was still present and licked the man's legs.
Nilsen, by now re- emergent from his murderous phase, rubbed the legs to get blood flowing, turned on the electric fire, and pulled out a blanket.
Years later, this man told me his moral certainties were skewed ever after, as he could not make up his mind whether Nilsen was his murderer or his saviour. He was both.
Shawn Hornbeck, when he finally tells his tale, may have something similar to say.
He might also reveal why he did not once, with all his liberty during the years he was held captive, find a way to reassure his poor mother that he was safe and well.
Kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck, who spent an astonishing four and a half years living with his abductor, had plenty of chances to escape, it emerged yesterday.
Friends of the 15-year-old said he was allowed to stay the night at their homes and acted like a 'normal teenager'.
The youngster was once even stopped by police on suspicion of playing truant - but made no attempt to raise the alarm.
One friend told how they watched a news report about Shawn Hornbeck's disappearance and remarked on the resemblance, but the teenager shrugged it off.
Shawn was discovered only after police in Kirkwood, Missouri, tracked another missing boy to the home of pizza parlour worker Michael Devlin.
------
The case of Shawn Hornbeck is, so far, utterly baffling.
Rescued by police from a four-year imprisonment in the house of a stranger, this normal, healthy, cheerful 15-year-old boy should be traumatised and stunted by his experience.
But he is not.
Snatched off the street when riding his bicycle at the age of 11, and almost given up for dead by his distraught parents, his ordeal-if that is what it was - has only come to light as a result of the disappearance a week ago of another youngster, Ben Ownby.
Ben's chum happened to spot the white van that abducted him, police traced the owner, and both boys were found living in a ground floor flat in Missouri belonging to 41-year-old bachelor Michael Devlin.
The obvious springs to mind. They must both have been the victims of a sexual predator, or perhaps a crazed collector, who kept them prisoners against their will.
Shawn's rescue was cause for ecstatic celebration by his family, and fascinated curiosity from the whole of America, but almost indifference from Shawn himself.
Why? Because it is evident that he has been leading something very close to a normal life and sees no reason for jubilation.
How normal is normal, one may ask. Well, for a start, he assumed the surname of his abductor and called himself Shawn Devlin.
He went skating. He went to the cinema. He rode his bike regularly. And none of this did he necessarily do alone. He had friends, notably two brothers near him in age, who came to visit and watched television with him.
They even stayed overnight, as teenage buddies do. Shawn returned the compliment, spending nights in the home of his friends, David and Tony Douglas.
Once, they saw a picture of the missing Shawn Hornbeck on the screen and remarked upon the likeness. The new Shawn Devlin shrugged and pouted, but said nothing. So nothing was done.
Mrs Douglas, the boys' mother, warmed to their friend and even took him to the zoo. It never occurred to her that he was a child in the midst of a drama, a child in need of help. And why should it have done, if there were no signs of distress?
Shawn referred to Devlin as his 'dad' and their landlord assumed they were father and son.
"The kid's bedroom didn't even have curtains on the window," he said.
Hardly the circumstances one would expect to curtail the movements of a captive.
The whole narrative is desperately mysterious, lacking any thread of reason. Did the boy change personality from one day to the next? Is that possible?
The only explanation so far offered is that this is an extreme instance of what is known as Stockholm Syndrome, whereby a captive becomes protective of his tormentor.
Because Stockholm Syndrome is inadequately understood, we should remind ourselves how it started.
In 1975, an attempted bank robbery in Stockholm stretched into a three-day siege, during the course of which an intense emotional bond evolved between the robbers and their hostages.
When the police eventually mounted a rescue mission, the hostages spotted what was about to happen and warned the robbers keeping them captive.
The police were dumbfounded by the realisation that the victims had allied themselves with the criminals.
It went further when one of the gang later became engaged to one of the bank clerks who had been his hostage.
Other similar cases merely deepen the mystery. An airline stewardess who was held at gunpoint by a hijacker subsequently spent months visiting him in prison, bearing gifts.
And the recent case of Natascha Kampusch in Austria made the problem even more vivid, with her poise and discretion upon release.
She had been a prisoner of Wolfgang Priklopil from the age of 10 to 18, her most delicate years, yet when his mother came to stay for the weekend, she kept quiet in her cell because she didn't want the woman to think ill of her son.
And when he committed suicide immediately following her escape, she blamed herself and took flowers to his coffin.
So what exactly had been going on? Was she his victim or his friend, or both? The truth is, the Stockholm situation is inherently ambiguous - it undermines moral certainties because it conflates moral opposites.
It is an expression of life in circumstances where one would expect an illustration of fury.
Psychologists have suggested that victims identify with their abductors out of fear of the violence that would ensue if they resisted. They also point to infantile regression, without explaining what this means, nor how it might be manifested.
They argue that the criminal can earn maximum reward for minimum cost by sparing the captive's life in return for cooperation, and that the captive is forever grateful thereafter.
By controlling the victim's environment, movements, access to air and light and meals, by isolating him or her from the normal world and turning a person into a possession, he imposes a severe sensory depravation which renders the victim malleable to an extreme degree.
Hence, their will is subverted and gradually conquered.
I think this analysis relies too much on preconceived notions of victimhood and control.
It does not allow room for common sense, because it assumes that Stockholm Syndrome is a oneway moral compass in which the warped views of the criminal determine the response of the captive.
In reality, the Stockholm experience must work in both directions, and the victim's compliance, his readiness to empathise, his willingness to make excuses and protect, all come from a profound human need to co-operate, to be of service and to help.
The human species has evolved precisely from those social bonds which hold us deeply beholden to one another in assistance and sympathy, and the Stockholm Syndrome is a graphic instance of these mutual needs in operation.
For his co-operation, for his refusal to be bitter, the victim earns the captor's gratitude, and feels he has done something good in his life. The captor's response to this generosity confirms his view.
Something like this must surely have happened to Natascha Kampusch, who protected her abductor from vilification and contempt, and it may have happened to Shawn Hornbeck, too.
He could well feel he has done Devlin some good in permitting him to play the role of father, and showing him respect rather than derision.
The original Stockholm victims, after all, changed character in only three days - so Shawn Hornbeck could well have done over four years.
As for the moral ambiguities, let me point to the case of a young man who was nearly murdered in 1985 by Denis Nilsen, the Muswell Hill killer, then subsequently saved by him.
Nilsen strangled this boy, then drowned him in the bath tub, then dumped the body on his bed. His pet dog recognised life was still present and licked the man's legs.
Nilsen, by now re- emergent from his murderous phase, rubbed the legs to get blood flowing, turned on the electric fire, and pulled out a blanket.
Years later, this man told me his moral certainties were skewed ever after, as he could not make up his mind whether Nilsen was his murderer or his saviour. He was both.
Shawn Hornbeck, when he finally tells his tale, may have something similar to say.
He might also reveal why he did not once, with all his liberty during the years he was held captive, find a way to reassure his poor mother that he was safe and well.
Trainwrecks.net blog gone: The explanation
Here's what's on the Trainwrecks site.
I guess this is blog history:
Sorry, folks, but Trainwrecks is gone and it's not coming back. Some deeply disturbed people with an irrational fixation on this site decided that stupid photo montages, libel, and obscene anonymous comments just weren't enough, so they decided to take their little hate campaign into the real world. And since their information came from gossip and bad detective work, they didn't exactly hit the right targets. As anyone might have expected, the people who suffered the most were not even involved with this site. Once it became clear that the people posting at Heaven Nose were willing to cross the line between a one-sided flame war and real-life harassment, our web host decided enough was enough, and we agreed. This site wasn't important enough to us to be worth having innocent people harassed at home and work. We're done.
I guess this is blog history:
Sorry, folks, but Trainwrecks is gone and it's not coming back. Some deeply disturbed people with an irrational fixation on this site decided that stupid photo montages, libel, and obscene anonymous comments just weren't enough, so they decided to take their little hate campaign into the real world. And since their information came from gossip and bad detective work, they didn't exactly hit the right targets. As anyone might have expected, the people who suffered the most were not even involved with this site. Once it became clear that the people posting at Heaven Nose were willing to cross the line between a one-sided flame war and real-life harassment, our web host decided enough was enough, and we agreed. This site wasn't important enough to us to be worth having innocent people harassed at home and work. We're done.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Physicians for a National Health Program
Check them out here.
I fled socialized medicine, then I discovered how we're robbed by the U.S. "healthcare system."
In the end, this is about best care at the lowest cost. Right now we have, on average, the worst care at highest cost.
It's time for change.
I fled socialized medicine, then I discovered how we're robbed by the U.S. "healthcare system."
In the end, this is about best care at the lowest cost. Right now we have, on average, the worst care at highest cost.
It's time for change.
How to leak a secret and not get caught
Leaking a sensitive document can mean risking your career, or worse - but not for much longer if an online service called WikiLeaks goes ahead. WikiLeaks is designed to allow anyone to post documents on the web without fear of being traced.
The creators of the site are thought to include political activists and open-source software engineers, though they are keeping their identities secret. Their goal is to ensure that whistle-blowers and journalists are not thrown into jail for emailing sensitive documents.
Read more in New Scientist.
The creators of the site are thought to include political activists and open-source software engineers, though they are keeping their identities secret. Their goal is to ensure that whistle-blowers and journalists are not thrown into jail for emailing sensitive documents.
Read more in New Scientist.
Ever wonder what a drug rep looks like?
Apparently the eDrugSearch blog wondered . . . and did some serious work compiling images of cheerleaders working as drug reps. Please note that many team Web sites do not include occupational info on their cheerleaders, so this is only a small fraction of the real number.
eDrugSearch was inspired by New York Times which had published a story about cheerleader drug reps. And there is apparently even a cheerleader employment firm.
I guess the point of this post is, how, oh how, can a poor doctor be expected to withstand so much sex appeal, packaged as drug information?
Which, indeed, appears to be the point. Of course, he will crumble, unable to focus on patients or drugs after such a visit. Naughty, naughty companies . . .
eDrugSearch was inspired by New York Times which had published a story about cheerleader drug reps. And there is apparently even a cheerleader employment firm.
I guess the point of this post is, how, oh how, can a poor doctor be expected to withstand so much sex appeal, packaged as drug information?
Which, indeed, appears to be the point. Of course, he will crumble, unable to focus on patients or drugs after such a visit. Naughty, naughty companies . . .
Allison, Philadelphia Eagles
Beth , St. Louis Rams
Brooke, Cincinnati Bengals
Carla, Atlanta Falcons
Kellie, Baltimore Ravens
Lindsey, New Orleans/Okla. City Hornets
Monae, Seattle Sonics
Natalie, San Francisco 49ers
Onya, Washington Redskins
Romney, Baltimore Ravens
Stacey, Charlotte Bobcats
Tara, Baltimore Ravens
Tawnya, Philadelphia Eagles
Traci, Tennessee Titans
Trisha, Kansas City Chiefs
Wanda, Washington Wizards
Does Donald Trump really care about what I write?
Sonar is a service which provides an easy-to-use reporting interface that shows the volume of relevant mentions in the blog world over time - any mentions - and whether the tone of those mentions is positive or negative.
This is for corporations, famous people, and so on.
Among the famous people using that service appears to be Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell. Or someone working for them. Or maybe someone entirely different, but let's pretend it was the Donald.
So he just checked out this blog and what I wrote here.
This is what he could view: Go here and scroll down. It may take a little while to get the page to open, so be patient, there's a lot of data.
I'm only happy my blog rates a "2" in influence, which appeared to be one of the higher numbers . . .
This is for corporations, famous people, and so on.
Among the famous people using that service appears to be Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell. Or someone working for them. Or maybe someone entirely different, but let's pretend it was the Donald.
So he just checked out this blog and what I wrote here.
This is what he could view: Go here and scroll down. It may take a little while to get the page to open, so be patient, there's a lot of data.
I'm only happy my blog rates a "2" in influence, which appeared to be one of the higher numbers . . .
Question authority: Your wife
I guess your wife or girlfriend may be an important authority in your life. It's time for you to question that authority. Just why does it take her so long, when it can be this fast . . .
Sunday, January 14, 2007
How easy is it to pick a lock?
This easy.
How Lockpicking Works.. - video powered by Metacafe
And how much is a lock pick gun? $49.95.
Locks, they're there to make you feel safe, not to stop anything.
1 Minute Unlock - video powered by Metacafe
How Lockpicking Works.. - video powered by Metacafe
And how much is a lock pick gun? $49.95.
Locks, they're there to make you feel safe, not to stop anything.
1 Minute Unlock - video powered by Metacafe
Trainwrecks.net: Blog suicide?
Once upon a time there was a blog, called Trainwrecks.net managed by Beth Campbell aka xeney. This site wrote about—train wrecks--human train wrecks. Any story you could imagine as long as it was a train wreck.
Some of Trainwreck's readers, or perhaps I should say victims, came over to this blog and weren't too happy about what Trainwrecks wrote about. Warfare between Trainwrecks and many other blogs ensued. People were taking this quite seriously. They thought the Trainwrecks people were cold and stone-hearted.
And then, suddenly, this weekend, Trainwrecks.net is no more.
If you click on the link above, you get the solemn message: "See You Space Cowboy... "
Heaven Nose takes credit for the demise of Trainwrecks.net, but no one knows.
Somehow, they've managed to clean out Google caches, everything. They've supposedly done this by inserting a robots.txt file into the trainwreck site's root file. This text erases all traces of the old site from the Internet.
They could've been bored, sued, anything. But the clean-up was professional. And not a word of goodbye, not even a Google cache to look at.
Or . . . could it be a great publicity stunt, the attention grabbing rebirth of Trainwrecks II? No one knows.
It sure looks like a real blog suicide, with a cryptic goodbye notice. Considering the tumultuous life Trainwrecks lived, the mystery is rather riveting.
Some of Trainwreck's readers, or perhaps I should say victims, came over to this blog and weren't too happy about what Trainwrecks wrote about. Warfare between Trainwrecks and many other blogs ensued. People were taking this quite seriously. They thought the Trainwrecks people were cold and stone-hearted.
And then, suddenly, this weekend, Trainwrecks.net is no more.
If you click on the link above, you get the solemn message: "See You Space Cowboy... "
Heaven Nose takes credit for the demise of Trainwrecks.net, but no one knows.
Somehow, they've managed to clean out Google caches, everything. They've supposedly done this by inserting a robots.txt file into the trainwreck site's root file. This text erases all traces of the old site from the Internet.
They could've been bored, sued, anything. But the clean-up was professional. And not a word of goodbye, not even a Google cache to look at.
Or . . . could it be a great publicity stunt, the attention grabbing rebirth of Trainwrecks II? No one knows.
It sure looks like a real blog suicide, with a cryptic goodbye notice. Considering the tumultuous life Trainwrecks lived, the mystery is rather riveting.
Paula Abdul: Any publicity is good publicity . . .
Some close relatives of mine like to watch American Idol, so I know who Paula Abdul is, since that show goes on forever, every second night. I guess Paula counts as "authority," so it gives me the right to write about her on this blog, without deviating too far from "questioning authority," by questioning her, uh, sobriety.
By the way, it's amazing how much can be squeezed in under that headline, "Question Authority," right?
So here's Paula in her most recent interview, and I didn't quite recognize her--let's say she wasn't as succinct as she usually is.
I guess the debate is; is she, or not? Here's the video. Watch the reaction of the anchor women doing the interviewing.
By the way, it's amazing how much can be squeezed in under that headline, "Question Authority," right?
So here's Paula in her most recent interview, and I didn't quite recognize her--let's say she wasn't as succinct as she usually is.
I guess the debate is; is she, or not? Here's the video. Watch the reaction of the anchor women doing the interviewing.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
The Democrats are back in power. Or are they?
Read the Washington Post about who's really got the power.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Pfizer goes on the offensive to stop affordable drugs.
Here Pfizer goes again.
Not a word that research is less than 20% of every drug dollar earned.
Or that only a small part of those 20% goes to innovative, new drugs.
Not a word that research is less than 20% of every drug dollar earned.
Or that only a small part of those 20% goes to innovative, new drugs.
Drug reimportation is back in the news: It should happen. But it won't.
Drug reimportation is back in the headlines.
What brought this issue back to life was the introduction this week of two identical bills in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to legalize importation of less expensive prescription drugs into the United States.
The fight for affordable drugs in the U.S., where uninsured patients pay the highest prices in the world, has gone on for a long time, with very little result.
A 2004 study by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office found that comparable drugs sold for 35 to 55 per cent less in Canada than in the U.S. The only ones benefiting from this situation have been the drug companies, and Canadian Internet pharmacies, which supply drugs to about three million Americans.
The proposed legislation would allow U.S. licensed pharmacies and wholesalers to import medications from Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Is it going to happen?
I doubt it.
Last time I was involved with this issue Senator Dorgan told me it was definitely going to happen. It didn't.
What is different this time around is that Democrats are now controlling both Houses, so the legislation stands a better chance of being passed.
What is not different is that to become law, the new legislation must be approved by President Bush, and he's made it very clear that he will not sign such legislation.
The issue seems like a no-brainer. But too many people in our government are paid off and will not allow this to happen, no matter how many uninsured Americans are suffering.
There is, however, some hope: Another presidential election is around the corner.
What brought this issue back to life was the introduction this week of two identical bills in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to legalize importation of less expensive prescription drugs into the United States.
The fight for affordable drugs in the U.S., where uninsured patients pay the highest prices in the world, has gone on for a long time, with very little result.
A 2004 study by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office found that comparable drugs sold for 35 to 55 per cent less in Canada than in the U.S. The only ones benefiting from this situation have been the drug companies, and Canadian Internet pharmacies, which supply drugs to about three million Americans.
The proposed legislation would allow U.S. licensed pharmacies and wholesalers to import medications from Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Is it going to happen?
I doubt it.
Last time I was involved with this issue Senator Dorgan told me it was definitely going to happen. It didn't.
What is different this time around is that Democrats are now controlling both Houses, so the legislation stands a better chance of being passed.
What is not different is that to become law, the new legislation must be approved by President Bush, and he's made it very clear that he will not sign such legislation.
The issue seems like a no-brainer. But too many people in our government are paid off and will not allow this to happen, no matter how many uninsured Americans are suffering.
There is, however, some hope: Another presidential election is around the corner.
#1 on Liberal Website: Daniela Cicarelli's beach lover: Stud or dud?
As some of you know, many of my articles are also published on other sites.
Here are most read stories over at Scoop right now, which I'm including, since it indicates what people really want to read, even in liberal online journals . . .
1. Daniela Cicarelli's beach lover: Stud or dud?
09 January 2007 Peter Rost M.D.
Usually I write about political stuff. Or serious things. But stay with me. This is really a serious article about male machismo among investment bankers, and how far that will take them, impacting the entire internet.
2. Second Leaked Video Shows Saddam Neck Wound
10 January 2007 Scoop Video
Scoop Video: (Editor's Warning: scenes displayed in this video content will disturb) -A new video showing the dead body of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been leaked. The video footage shows Saddam Hussein being unwrapped from a shroud specifically ...
3. Cheney's Got His Teeth Sunk into Iran
10:13 am Russ Wellen
First the Republicans lost their majority status in Congress. Then the Iraq Study Group sent the White House its report card and gave it a failing grade. It looked like Dick Cheney had finally been put in his rightful place –- the ceremonial office ...
Here are most read stories over at Scoop right now, which I'm including, since it indicates what people really want to read, even in liberal online journals . . .
1. Daniela Cicarelli's beach lover: Stud or dud?
09 January 2007 Peter Rost M.D.
Usually I write about political stuff. Or serious things. But stay with me. This is really a serious article about male machismo among investment bankers, and how far that will take them, impacting the entire internet.
2. Second Leaked Video Shows Saddam Neck Wound
10 January 2007 Scoop Video
Scoop Video: (Editor's Warning: scenes displayed in this video content will disturb) -A new video showing the dead body of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been leaked. The video footage shows Saddam Hussein being unwrapped from a shroud specifically ...
3. Cheney's Got His Teeth Sunk into Iran
10:13 am Russ Wellen
First the Republicans lost their majority status in Congress. Then the Iraq Study Group sent the White House its report card and gave it a failing grade. It looked like Dick Cheney had finally been put in his rightful place –- the ceremonial office ...
Pfizer: I said they'd cut more and analysts are now confirming
On January 3 I was quoted in the magazine Nature, saying the following:
Peter Rost, a company gadfly and former Pfizer marketing vice-president, now in litigation with the firm over the circumstances of his departure in 2005, is more direct. “It’s very likely that Pfizer is going to pull back on personnel in all areas, including research,”he says. Rost’s blog, http://peterrost.blogspot.com, has been abuzz with chat on the circumstances and implications of the trial failure . . .
Looks like I wasn't too far off the mark. News have been getting out that Pfizer may tell investors this month the company will be firing 10 percent of its workforce and cutting its research budget. Pfizer may announce the reductions in its $7 billion research budget and a workforce of about 100,000 people at a Jan. 22 analyst meeting, said Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan. Bloomberg has the story. But you heard it here already ten days ago
Peter Rost, a company gadfly and former Pfizer marketing vice-president, now in litigation with the firm over the circumstances of his departure in 2005, is more direct. “It’s very likely that Pfizer is going to pull back on personnel in all areas, including research,”he says. Rost’s blog, http://peterrost.blogspot.com, has been abuzz with chat on the circumstances and implications of the trial failure . . .
Looks like I wasn't too far off the mark. News have been getting out that Pfizer may tell investors this month the company will be firing 10 percent of its workforce and cutting its research budget. Pfizer may announce the reductions in its $7 billion research budget and a workforce of about 100,000 people at a Jan. 22 analyst meeting, said Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan. Bloomberg has the story. But you heard it here already ten days ago
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Coming soon: The Viagra condom
The Viagra condom may soon be here. Launch is planned for 2007 in the UK.A UK company, Futura Medical has developed this innovative product.
CSD500 will be a condom used by healthy men who need that little extra kick. It incorporates an erectogenic compound which comes into contact with the penis on application of the condom. This is aimed at helping healthy men maintain an erection during intercourse in order to reduce condom slippage. In case they get bored, I guess. An exclusive global distribution agreement has been signed with SSL International plc, the maker of Durex™ condoms, to distribute CSD500 when licensed.
FLD500 is a sister product to CSD500. For this product, the active compound will be applied to the outside of a condom thereby coming into direct contact with the vagina during sexual intercourse. The active compound will encourage natural lubrication during intercourse. In case she gets bored. The product is aimed at helping healthy women maintain lubrication during intercourse, reducing the risk of condom failure. An exclusive global distribution agreement has been signed with SSL International plc, the maker of Durex™ condoms, to distribute FLD500 when licensed.
MED2002 will be a “rub-on” gel applied directly to the penis for the treatment of male erectile dysfunction. The company believe this will become the first pharmaceutical treatment for erectile dysfunction available to patients without the need of a doctor’s prescription.
An exclusive global development agreement has been signed with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, a division of GlaxoSmithKline, the global pharmaceutical and healthcare group most known for a CEO who told the world "I'm not Mother Theresa."
Perhaps that will be the advertising slogan?
Stay tuned. More to come.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Top Ten methods to access blocked websites
Lots of people around the world, like China, don't have free Internet access, (even though Brazil can watch YouTube again) and many corporations are also starting to block certain Internet sites.
And of course it is very wrong for governments to stop people from getting information, but for some reason we don't think it is wrong for corporations to do the same thing.
If you are a corporate employee, do not use the following information, since companies essentially own their employees, at least during working hours (and also all other hours for exempt employees), and slaves shouldn't rebel against their masters.
But if you're not a slave, only enslaved under a repressive regime, then, feel free to go ahead:
Top Ten methods to access banned websites
1. Use IP address - This is the simplest way to bypass domain name based access restrictions. Instead of the domain name such as www.webstuffscan.com use the direct IP address. To find the IP address use one of the free host to IP online conversion tools such as this.
2. Use Google cache - If you are not bothered whether the content is latest on a site, Google cache is best. Do a Google search for the site and then click on the cached link below the search results. 3. Use an Anonymizer - In this method you access a third party site which in turn routes your request to the required server. Some services provide URL encryption also. The problem is that most of these servers are no longer free. Do a google search for the latest list as this is a very dynamic area Following are some services which still works(free!),
Proxify - Hides original URL and provides an array of access of options. The is one of the best free servers.
Block Stop - New guy in the town!
Anonymouse - This works, but URL is visible and hence may be blocked by the filtering software.
4. Use Online Translation Tools - In this method, we can use the translation service as a web proxy. Following are the best links I know of. Again Google is your best friend for more resources.
Altavista Babel fish - In the above replace www.webstuffscan.com with the site you want. You can also visit Babel fish site.
Google Translate - Similar to Babel fish.
5. Use Google Mobile search - Google mobile search works, but output may not be optimal. This is very similar to using a Web proxy.
6. Use a public Proxy server - There are many free proxy servers out in the Web. Note that in order to use these you have to change internet connection settings in Internet Explorer or whatever browser you use. This is one such list.
7. Get web pages via email - This is useful if you need a single Web page. Obviously accessing large files is not possible. Given below are some examples. You can use SEND http://www.yahoo.com/ in the body of the message and send it to agora@dna.affrc.go.jp to retrieve yahoo.com home page. You can also check out services at web2mail which includes web page subscriptions. G.E Boyd has an extensive list of servers. Note that many in the list are no longer working.
8. Your own proxy server - This is an advanced technique and is probably the best. This requires your own proxy server hosted either at your home or at a hosting service provider. You can enable SSL encryption and prevent any snooping on the content as well. Also put some access control, otherwise someone can find the service and misuse it (Trust me, there are many who are looking for such an opportunity!).
Use Apache Web server as proxy server - A bit complex setup.
Use Privoxy - - This is the recommended approach. Please see this page for more details.
Use PHPProxy as a Web Proxy - You can use PHPProxy to setup a Web proxy.
9. Use Tor Distributed Proxy - Tor is an advanced proxy server using multiple anonymous servers for a single Web request. This requires an application to be downloaded and installed.
10. Use alternate content providers - When everything fails, you can use alternate service providers. For example if Gmail is blocked at your place, you can take another obscure mail address and enable email forward at Gmail.
And of course it is very wrong for governments to stop people from getting information, but for some reason we don't think it is wrong for corporations to do the same thing.
If you are a corporate employee, do not use the following information, since companies essentially own their employees, at least during working hours (and also all other hours for exempt employees), and slaves shouldn't rebel against their masters.
But if you're not a slave, only enslaved under a repressive regime, then, feel free to go ahead:
Top Ten methods to access banned websites
1. Use IP address - This is the simplest way to bypass domain name based access restrictions. Instead of the domain name such as www.webstuffscan.com use the direct IP address. To find the IP address use one of the free host to IP online conversion tools such as this.
2. Use Google cache - If you are not bothered whether the content is latest on a site, Google cache is best. Do a Google search for the site and then click on the cached link below the search results. 3. Use an Anonymizer - In this method you access a third party site which in turn routes your request to the required server. Some services provide URL encryption also. The problem is that most of these servers are no longer free. Do a google search for the latest list as this is a very dynamic area Following are some services which still works(free!),
Proxify - Hides original URL and provides an array of access of options. The is one of the best free servers.
Block Stop - New guy in the town!
Anonymouse - This works, but URL is visible and hence may be blocked by the filtering software.
4. Use Online Translation Tools - In this method, we can use the translation service as a web proxy. Following are the best links I know of. Again Google is your best friend for more resources.
Altavista Babel fish - In the above replace www.webstuffscan.com with the site you want. You can also visit Babel fish site.
Google Translate - Similar to Babel fish.
5. Use Google Mobile search - Google mobile search works, but output may not be optimal. This is very similar to using a Web proxy.
6. Use a public Proxy server - There are many free proxy servers out in the Web. Note that in order to use these you have to change internet connection settings in Internet Explorer or whatever browser you use. This is one such list.
7. Get web pages via email - This is useful if you need a single Web page. Obviously accessing large files is not possible. Given below are some examples. You can use SEND http://www.yahoo.com/ in the body of the message and send it to agora@dna.affrc.go.jp to retrieve yahoo.com home page. You can also check out services at web2mail which includes web page subscriptions. G.E Boyd has an extensive list of servers. Note that many in the list are no longer working.
8. Your own proxy server - This is an advanced technique and is probably the best. This requires your own proxy server hosted either at your home or at a hosting service provider. You can enable SSL encryption and prevent any snooping on the content as well. Also put some access control, otherwise someone can find the service and misuse it (Trust me, there are many who are looking for such an opportunity!).
Use Apache Web server as proxy server - A bit complex setup.
Use Privoxy - - This is the recommended approach. Please see this page for more details.
Use PHPProxy as a Web Proxy - You can use PHPProxy to setup a Web proxy.
9. Use Tor Distributed Proxy - Tor is an advanced proxy server using multiple anonymous servers for a single Web request. This requires an application to be downloaded and installed.
10. Use alternate content providers - When everything fails, you can use alternate service providers. For example if Gmail is blocked at your place, you can take another obscure mail address and enable email forward at Gmail.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
The Dr. Rost blog getting famous in Brazil
I have to come straight out and admit this: I think Brazil is a beautiful country, I have visited once, but I don't speak a word portuguese, which is too bad right now.
Because I have been very curious about all those comments about my comments in Brazilian newspapers and blogs. Here are a few of the blogs using one portuguese word everyone will recognize.
They all seem to comment about what BBC Brazil wrote about what I wrote about the YouTube shut-down in Brazil:
A censura também gerou protestos de colunistas e blogueiros em todo mundo. O empresário e escritor americano Peter Rost, que tem um blog sobre política, ironizou Cicarelli e o namorado Renato Malzoni, protagonistas do vídeo.
"No final o que esta história prova é isso: não seja pego com algas no seu calção de banho. E se for pego, tente achar um advogado para banir o YouTube em todo o País", escreve Rost, que publicou ao lado de seu artigo o polêmico vídeo.
And here's the translation:
The censorship also generated protests from columnists and bloggers around the world. The American businessman and writer Peter Rost, who writes a political blog, makes fun of Cicarelli and her boyfriend Renato Malzoni; the main characters in the video.
"In the end, what this story shows is this: Don't get caught with kelp in your pants. And if you do, try to get a lawyer to ban YouTube from an entire country," writes Rost, who has published the controversial video on his site.
I always thought that if I wrote things on this blog eventually something, let's say, a bit more profound, would be quoted by BBC, but hey, I'll take what I can get.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Because I have been very curious about all those comments about my comments in Brazilian newspapers and blogs. Here are a few of the blogs using one portuguese word everyone will recognize.
They all seem to comment about what BBC Brazil wrote about what I wrote about the YouTube shut-down in Brazil:
A censura também gerou protestos de colunistas e blogueiros em todo mundo. O empresário e escritor americano Peter Rost, que tem um blog sobre política, ironizou Cicarelli e o namorado Renato Malzoni, protagonistas do vídeo.
"No final o que esta história prova é isso: não seja pego com algas no seu calção de banho. E se for pego, tente achar um advogado para banir o YouTube em todo o País", escreve Rost, que publicou ao lado de seu artigo o polêmico vídeo.
And here's the translation:
The censorship also generated protests from columnists and bloggers around the world. The American businessman and writer Peter Rost, who writes a political blog, makes fun of Cicarelli and her boyfriend Renato Malzoni; the main characters in the video.
"In the end, what this story shows is this: Don't get caught with kelp in your pants. And if you do, try to get a lawyer to ban YouTube from an entire country," writes Rost, who has published the controversial video on his site.
I always thought that if I wrote things on this blog eventually something, let's say, a bit more profound, would be quoted by BBC, but hey, I'll take what I can get.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Monday, January 08, 2007
All time high for this blog: 15,000 hits yesterday.
Wow. Last year I changed the format of this blog and changed the name, to "Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost."
And there's been lots of action since then. Yesterday came an all-time high, beating last week's 8,000 hits in a single day, coming in at OVER 15,000 PAGE LOADS!
Thank you, all, for visiting.
If anything can be learned from this it is that "make love, not war," still applies. The forbidden Cicarelli video handily outsold the uncensored Saddam hanging. And that's good news. I mean, that people rather watch people making you-know-what, than watch people hanging people.
But some readers have been concerned that this site is turning into the National Enquirer and will lose its political edge.
Have no fear.
After all, what does the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, Bloomberg News, Associated Press, Reuters, BBC, Forbes and hundreds of other newspapers recently have in common with the Dr. Peter Rost blog?
They all covered the Daniela Cicarelli affair in Brazil.
The only difference is that I did it faster, and with pictures and video. They can't do that in newspapers.
I know a few of my most cherished readers had a hickup when I wrote about this story. But when most of a country shuts down access to the Internet for one single provider-YouTube--that is pretty big news. Even when the news involves sex in the sea.
One reader wrote that I was ruining my "cred."
I hope not. This blog was renamed last year to "Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost." It means exactly that. This blog will approach any topic in which it can undress the rich, the powerful, the Democrats, the Republicans, the FDA, the CEOs, the saints, the do-gooders the same way. Whomever it is.
Welcome to "Question Authority." We don't discriminate among the people we expose on this blog.
Here are some comments from a few of the new readers:
hello. I'm from brazil.. and I care about that.
brazil was responsable of 19,1% of youtube subscribes...
so, I'm worried and nervous about this atittude, youtube is more than a simple site of sharing videos, is a way to express yourself.
there are videos about cientic things, culture of nations, news, ... a lot of interesting things...
Daniella Cicarelli is a joke... her video never will be delete from cyberspace.
I hope its stop soon...
thanks for your blog.
--
Posted by Gilciana to Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost at 1/09/2007 08:00:41 AM
Hi!!
This is my first time in your blog and as brazilian i'm very happy to see the polemic video of Cicarelli here. Your blog is turning famous in Brasil, look: http://tecnologia.terra.com.br/interna/0,,OI1337230-EI4802,00.html . This new was posted in one of the most popular Brasil's site (Terra.com.br). Lucky man!!
--
Posted by Anonymous to Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost at 1/09/2007 07:21:17 AM
Hello Dr. Peter Rost,
I've read your comments about the Youtube case in the Brazilian media.
Yes, this block is affecting around five millions. And, yes, it's a joke. Outrageous!
To whoever thinks "Who Cares": If you don't know, brazilians are world recordists of online time. And youtube is the 10th site most accessed in the entire world AND it's like the 5th most accessed in Brazil.
Brazil might be a "fucked up joke", but it's my country and I would like to ask some respect in name of 100+ millions of brazilians that live in here. It's not our fault that Cicarelli is a dickhead AND some judges have no common sense.
--
Posted by Rodolfo Andrade to Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost at 1/09/2007 06:55:01 AM
Some days I love your site and some days I LOVE YOUR SITE!
Some days you show what a scary investigator you are as well. And ya know what, I would imagine TMZ would be hard pressed to beat you when it comes to celebrity investigative ability.
Love this site.
--
Posted by Rosethejet to Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost at 1/09/2007 01:49:59 AM
Hi, I live in Brazil where my ISP, the largest ISP in my region, has been forced to restrict my access to youTube because of some wet dog in heat F***ing on the beach. I am not a regular visitor to youTube, but it makes me feel like I am in China, where the government dictates what is good for me. Maybe next time she’ll have the common sense to get a motel room instead of getting me hot and steamy because now I can’t access youTube.
--
Posted by Anonymous to Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost at 1/08/2007 08:42:33 PM
I'm from Brazil and I did watch this video once. They're in a beach. Full of people. Cicarelli always wants publicity, specially after her broke up with Ronaldo, because she lost several contracts. And that stupid judge is helping her. BTW Youtube is still working here (Sao Paulo State)
--
Posted by Anonymous to Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost at 1/08/2007 07:04:20 PM
The lawsuit was probably funded by Malzoni for two reasons:
1) It's professionally embarassing for HIM to be licking this girl in public and then covering his schlong with seaweed at the end because he apparently took a double dose of Cialis and can't put it back in his pants.
2) Getting it banned is going to be best possible publicity for Daniella who will now rocket to international fame overnight. Just watch her become bigger than Paris Hilton in a matter of weeks.
--
Posted by Anonymous to Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost at 1/08/2007 05:38:26 PM
Pfizer targets fat dogs
The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it approved a Pfizer drug designed to help cut the weight off fat dogs.
Pfizer will market Slentrol, a liquid formula, to owners of the estimated 5 percent of U.S. dogs that are 20 percent above their ideal weight.
This should make shareholders happy.
After all, based on the torcetrapib fiasco, Pfizer's hasn't done too well treating people lately .
Sunday, January 07, 2007
New record for the Dr. Peter Rost blog: 8,000 page loads in one day.
This cartoon sums up the situation pretty well:
What we say we read and what we really read, is abundantly clear to anyone experimenting with a web site, such as this one.
What we say we read and what we really read, is abundantly clear to anyone experimenting with a web site, such as this one.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Condoms: Victims of airline security
A woman who intended to bring three condoms aboard an airline was arrested.
The problem?
Those condoms weren’t empty. They were filled with a white substance.
Initial testing indicated that they were “filled with drugs.” But in a scary example of just how totally incompetent our law enforcement agencies are, it was determined three weeks later that the substance was not drugs—but flour. The stuff you bake with. Of course, during those three weeks the woman had been in jail. No one believed she put flour in the condoms.
So the warning is now out there: Grannies, leave your baking flour off the airplanes, or else you may be carted off to jail. And women, don’t bring condoms filled with anything onto an airplane.
Imagine if the young woman had filled those condoms with red meat? That might have caused a transcontinental manhunt for three men missing their male organs.
Like any red-blooded American who has been falsely accused and spent three weeks in jail, the woman sued the city of Philadelphia, and the suit was just settled for $180,000.
And just like any big corporate defendant, the city admitted no wrongdoing or liability for their part in jailing a woman for three weeks, because she was carrying flour in her carry-on bag.
Finally, the most important question: Why would anyone fill condoms with flour?
Simple: The woman explained that she and other students used to squeeze the flour-filled condoms to relieve exam stress.
Of course, "squeeze," is a pretty ambigious word.
The problem?
Those condoms weren’t empty. They were filled with a white substance.
Initial testing indicated that they were “filled with drugs.” But in a scary example of just how totally incompetent our law enforcement agencies are, it was determined three weeks later that the substance was not drugs—but flour. The stuff you bake with. Of course, during those three weeks the woman had been in jail. No one believed she put flour in the condoms.
So the warning is now out there: Grannies, leave your baking flour off the airplanes, or else you may be carted off to jail. And women, don’t bring condoms filled with anything onto an airplane.
Imagine if the young woman had filled those condoms with red meat? That might have caused a transcontinental manhunt for three men missing their male organs.
Like any red-blooded American who has been falsely accused and spent three weeks in jail, the woman sued the city of Philadelphia, and the suit was just settled for $180,000.
And just like any big corporate defendant, the city admitted no wrongdoing or liability for their part in jailing a woman for three weeks, because she was carrying flour in her carry-on bag.
Finally, the most important question: Why would anyone fill condoms with flour?
Simple: The woman explained that she and other students used to squeeze the flour-filled condoms to relieve exam stress.
Of course, "squeeze," is a pretty ambigious word.
"The Whistleblower" book reading in New York
The event Tuesday evening at a bookstore in New York worked out great!
I brought my son so he could see his father in action.
The place was packed. In fact, professor Mark Crispin Miller who led the show said attendance was wonderful, then he changed his mind and said it was the best he'd ever seen. No seats left, people were standing between bookshelves trying to get a glimpse of the action.
The evening also gave me several nice contacts. There were a few people from big pharma there, we had one "hot" discussion, I met a nice lawyer from BMS, and I also met several investment bankers, one doing "ethical investing".
I'm going to have lunch with her next week. That should be interesting.
The only surprise was that professor Miller didn't ask any questions, so I was left to talk on my own. But the audience asked so much more, so that wasn't a problem. Time flew by, and we had to shut down after an hour.
I brought my son so he could see his father in action.
The place was packed. In fact, professor Mark Crispin Miller who led the show said attendance was wonderful, then he changed his mind and said it was the best he'd ever seen. No seats left, people were standing between bookshelves trying to get a glimpse of the action.
The evening also gave me several nice contacts. There were a few people from big pharma there, we had one "hot" discussion, I met a nice lawyer from BMS, and I also met several investment bankers, one doing "ethical investing".
I'm going to have lunch with her next week. That should be interesting.
The only surprise was that professor Miller didn't ask any questions, so I was left to talk on my own. But the audience asked so much more, so that wasn't a problem. Time flew by, and we had to shut down after an hour.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Uncensored Saddam execution video leads to three arrests
An adviser to Iraq's prime minister said "an official who supervised the execution" is believed to have recorded Saddam Hussein's execution on a cell phone camera and has been arrested. Two guards who were recorded on the unofficial video taunting Mr. Hussein were also arrested.
What is noteworthy is that the one person who brings the truth to the world, gets punished. Here is his video. Iraqi state television aired an official video of the hanging, which had no audio. Here is that one. What a difference.
In the end, do we want a world, muzzled and censored, or free access to what really happened? I know what I want. But of course, the people in power never want the truth to get out.
The unauthorized video embarrassed the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, so now they are retaliating, trying to cover up their own ineptitude. Because botching the execution of this century, is pretty inept.
Britain's Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott yesterday described the manner of Saddam's hanging as "deplorable" and the leaking of the cell phone footage as "totally unacceptable". And that is also true. After all, the leaking demonstrates the complete lack of control by the government. At the same time that also gave us the truth.
And the truth is that the whole hanging was botched. And now the people responsible for the mess are arresting the people who exposed the mess.
What is noteworthy is that the one person who brings the truth to the world, gets punished. Here is his video. Iraqi state television aired an official video of the hanging, which had no audio. Here is that one. What a difference.
In the end, do we want a world, muzzled and censored, or free access to what really happened? I know what I want. But of course, the people in power never want the truth to get out.
The unauthorized video embarrassed the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, so now they are retaliating, trying to cover up their own ineptitude. Because botching the execution of this century, is pretty inept.
Britain's Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott yesterday described the manner of Saddam's hanging as "deplorable" and the leaking of the cell phone footage as "totally unacceptable". And that is also true. After all, the leaking demonstrates the complete lack of control by the government. At the same time that also gave us the truth.
And the truth is that the whole hanging was botched. And now the people responsible for the mess are arresting the people who exposed the mess.
Nature: When the party’s over (for Pfizer)
Excerpts from Nature article "When the party’s over" today:
The world’s largest drug company starts 2007 in need of a fresh start. Most of all, Pfizer has to put aside the end of 2006, when it was forced to pull the plug on its eagerly anticipated cholesterol-lowering drug torcetrapib. The compound was found to be associated with unacceptably high death rates in a late-stage clinical trial involving 15,000 people (see Nature 444, 794–795; 2006) . . .
In this environment the company’s 13,000 researchers are entitled to worry about their future. “There appears to be a pattern to right-sizing the organization, that probably implies either trimming research and development or, at least, investigating whether it should be trimmed,” says Tony Butler, a pharmaceuticals analyst with Lehman Brothers in New York.
Peter Rost, a company gadfly and former Pfizer marketing vice-president,now in litigation with the firm over the circumstances of his departure in 2005, is more direct. “It’s very likely that Pfizer is going to pull back on personnel in all areas, including research,”he says. Rost’s blog, http://peterrost.blogspot.com, has been abuzz with chat on the circumstances and implications of the trial failure . . .
“Pfizer was one of the few remaining companies that appeared to be able to manage the mega-blockbuster drugs,” explains Kenneth Kaitin, the director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development in Medford, Massachusetts.
------------
Pfizer is no more that company, apparently.
The world’s largest drug company starts 2007 in need of a fresh start. Most of all, Pfizer has to put aside the end of 2006, when it was forced to pull the plug on its eagerly anticipated cholesterol-lowering drug torcetrapib. The compound was found to be associated with unacceptably high death rates in a late-stage clinical trial involving 15,000 people (see Nature 444, 794–795; 2006) . . .
In this environment the company’s 13,000 researchers are entitled to worry about their future. “There appears to be a pattern to right-sizing the organization, that probably implies either trimming research and development or, at least, investigating whether it should be trimmed,” says Tony Butler, a pharmaceuticals analyst with Lehman Brothers in New York.
Peter Rost, a company gadfly and former Pfizer marketing vice-president,now in litigation with the firm over the circumstances of his departure in 2005, is more direct. “It’s very likely that Pfizer is going to pull back on personnel in all areas, including research,”he says. Rost’s blog, http://peterrost.blogspot.com, has been abuzz with chat on the circumstances and implications of the trial failure . . .
“Pfizer was one of the few remaining companies that appeared to be able to manage the mega-blockbuster drugs,” explains Kenneth Kaitin, the director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development in Medford, Massachusetts.
------------
Pfizer is no more that company, apparently.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
A literary evening with an outsider in New York
So, tonight I'm going to be at that bookstore in New York and talk about my book. That feels pretty good. I guess because it is a very different world than I'm used to. Not the bookstore, but the literary world. I haven't spent that much time in it. I don't think I've ever even met a professor of media studies before, so that should be intersting. As far as the literary world goes, this little video clip kind of demonstrates my feelings for it:
I know you may wonder what I'm smoking, but hey, it's a feeling. The video shows "Dancing at the cafe - Bande a Part (AKA Band of Outsiders)" and I guess I do feel like an outsider right now. I don't really mind. That means I can speak my mind.
Fun part is, more literary types, like Lauren Cerand, are now rounding up people to come to this event. She writes this:
TUESDAY 1.2: At McNally Robinson, “Join Mark Crispin Miller and Peter Rost for a discussion of Rost’s The Whistleblower. McNally Robinson Booksellers is restarting their First Tuesdays political series, hosted by Mark Crispin Miller. The goal of the series is tohighlight issues-oriented titles that may be a little too dangerous to receive a great deal of mainstream media attention, and bring the authors into conversation with their customers. 7:00pm.
I'm just not sure of what to wear. Corporate suit--or literary jeans and sweater. Maybe a compromise?
Jacket with black turtleneck?
So many decisions in just one day.
I know you may wonder what I'm smoking, but hey, it's a feeling. The video shows "Dancing at the cafe - Bande a Part (AKA Band of Outsiders)" and I guess I do feel like an outsider right now. I don't really mind. That means I can speak my mind.
Fun part is, more literary types, like Lauren Cerand, are now rounding up people to come to this event. She writes this:
TUESDAY 1.2: At McNally Robinson, “Join Mark Crispin Miller and Peter Rost for a discussion of Rost’s The Whistleblower. McNally Robinson Booksellers is restarting their First Tuesdays political series, hosted by Mark Crispin Miller. The goal of the series is tohighlight issues-oriented titles that may be a little too dangerous to receive a great deal of mainstream media attention, and bring the authors into conversation with their customers. 7:00pm.
I'm just not sure of what to wear. Corporate suit--or literary jeans and sweater. Maybe a compromise?
Jacket with black turtleneck?
So many decisions in just one day.
"The Whistleblower" on New York Times list of "The best of New York today"
URBAN EYE, THE BEST OF NEW YORK TODAY--TUESDAY:
READINGS, DINING
A Slice of Pizza and Politics
On the first Tuesday of every month the critic and professor Mark Crispin Miller leads a political discussion; on this, the first Tuesday of the year, the subject is corporate ethics (or lack thereof) in Big Pharma. His guest is Peter Rost, the former pharmaceutical executive and author of “The Whistleblower.”
Or head to the South Street Seaport — yes, locals go there too — for a reading with the horror writers Michael Cisco and John Langan. If you get spooked navigating the dim cobblestone streets, stop at the always-hopping Adrienne’s Pizza Bar, for one of its “fantastically crisp” round pies. Or duck into the Bridge Café, which Frank McCourt rhapsodizes as perhaps the city’s oldest bar, for some liquid courage.
First Tuesdays Political Series with Mark Crispin Miller, 7 p.m., McNally Robinson bookstore, 52 Prince Street, at Lafayette Street, (212) 274-1160, free. New York Review of Science Fiction horror reading, Melville Gallery, 213 Water Street, at Fulton Street, ( 212) 748-8568, $5 suggested donation. Adrienne’s Pizza Bar, 54 Stone Street, at Coenties Alley, (212) 248-3838. Bridge Café, 279 Water Street, at Dover Street, (212) 227-3344.
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