Novartis was just denied a patent for Gleevec, a cancer drug, in India. This wasn't because they doubt the efficacy of the drug. It was to protect their right to manufacture generic versions.

India’s Supreme Court has rejected a bid from Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG to patent an updated version of its cancer drug Gleevec (known as Glivec in Europe).

Patents allow companies to block competitors from making and selling the same product. The ruling means that Novartis can’t stop drug makers in India from manufacturing generic versions of Gleevec, which cost much less than the original.

This is not an unusual occurrence these days. Worldwide, oncologists and medical professionals are pressuring Big Pharma to drop their prices on cancer treatment drugs.

“Advocating for lower drug prices is a necessity to save the lives of patients who cannot afford them,” the physicians write in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. Since many specialize in chronic myeloid leukemia, which is a deadly blood cancer, they cited Gleevec, a best-selling medication marketed by Novartis.

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Richard Dreyfuss, appearing on MSNBC to discuss the new documentary he narrates, America Betrayed, on Hurricane Katrina, the worst man-made disaster in American history, seized the opportunity in front of a cheering crowd of onlookers to blast George W. Bush and the Republican party for all the damage they have inflicted upon this country over the last 8 years.

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Dreyfuss: I don't think the Europeans have any confidence in our government. I think that the last eight years has destroyed two hundred years of respect and dedication. And I think we have been the point of meaning and admiration in the world for very specific reasons, and George Bush trashed it.

O’Donnell: So, you don't think that John McCain would be able to manage this government well, would have a different response than George Bush to a Hurricane Katrina?

Dreyfuss: I think the Republican party is corrupt through and through. And even the republicans like Buckley before he died said 'we should lose this election, go into the wilderness, and get cleansed', and I believe that's true. I think that they have been in office too long. I think that they are too adept at thievery, at moving the Constitution into places it never meant to go. I think that they have an extraordinary ability to divide rather than unite. And I think that I'm tired of being called a traitor, because I like my flag and I support the troops.

In what I must say seems to echo a theme similar to that of Naomi Kline's must-read book, Shock Doctrine, America Betrayed promises to go beyond Katrina and delve into the Oklahoma City bombing, the 9/11 attacks, the war in Iraq, and offer "a long, hard look at how this country handles disaster, which ones they indirectly cause and how corporate America and their friends in the White House profit from those disasters in the long run."

Can't wait to see this one.

Download | play Download | play (h/t Heather)

What a complete and utter tool. On C-Span's Newsmakers show this weekend, Roy Blunt blames Nancy Pelosi for how little the 110th Congress has accomplished. Now I have my issues with Pelosi's priorities and leadership, but let's call a tool a tool. The reason that so little has been passed is that the Republicans have been playing these stupid partisan games (and Blunt, John Ashcroft's and Tom DeLay's personally groomed protege, knows exactly how to do it) and basically fighting every bit of legislation that comes along. Can you say obstructionism, Roy? (.pdf) I knew that you could.

And then to prove that the Republicans are serious about being as difficult as possible, Blunt admits that the Republicans have every intent to shut down Congress after the summer recess unless the Democrats allow for off-shore drilling rights. But it's the Democrats' fault. I can't believe how dishonest this guy is...and of course, since he's being interviewed by a Washington Times journalist, no actual facts will be proffered.

We've discussed the fallacy of the off-shore drilling doing anything to help our energy crisis...a perfect example of the Shock Doctrine being pushed upon us. Yes, our gas is expensive, relatively speaking, for us (but compared to Europe, still a bargain). No actual increase in supply would happen for at least 5-10 years, no guarantee that resource would go to offset Americans' costs (rather than going on the global market to the highest bidder) and the disaster waiting to happen of oil spills in sensitive ecological areas makes it a smart choice for the Democrats to take a stand. The only benefits go to oil companies and I'd say they're doing fine right now.

So it's up to the Democrats (hear me, Pelosi?) to get in front of this and make sure the American people know that Blunt & Co. want to shut down the government to put more money in the bank accounts of oil companies. That's all that needs to be said.

transcripts below the fold

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David Seaton's News Links: The present election campaign demonstrates that powerful forces in the Washington political and foreign policy communities, reinforced by financial and industrial interests, are committed to suppressing all challenge to policies that already have altered the political character of the United States.

The Pump Handle: Another censored environmental report (Arctic Drilling Edition)

sardonic sideshow: The Hillary Standard

The Heretik: Do not be alarmed. Your government is busy keeping you safe.

FAIR: White Supremacist spin at USA Today

Papamoka Straight Talk: There's probably no one who knows more about war profiteers in Iraq-- outside of Cheney and the folks at Halliburton and KBR-- than Alan Grayson, an attorney prosecuting numerous war profiteering cases.

While there's nothing as blockbuster as Gonzales's appearance, the Senate is clearly busy this week and there's some interesting things on the agenda, including:

S. 119, the War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007, will likely make Dick Cheney come back to the Senate floor and tell Leahy to "go f***" himself again, because it sets penalties and standards for people like Cheney's buddies at Halliburton when it comes to profiteering and fraud in scamming money off the Iraq war.

Bob Geiger has the full schedule. Let us know if there are any hearings you think would be particularly clip-worthy for C&L.

I'm a major devotee of Michael Shaw's BAGNewsNotes. I saw this post a couple of weeks ago, but C&Ler JJohnson reminded me of it in the comments last night and I'd like to read your take on it. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, but the words that come to my mind when I look at this wedding portrait are not fit for print. That's not Photoshopped. Click through the links to see more photos of this couple.

I hope they send a wedding announcement with that photo to George and Dick so that they can look on the result of their pre-emptive invasion and occupation of a country based on lies and obsfuscation and who really is sacrificing for their war profiteering and inept planning. Maybe Pickles can tell us that's just the unfortunate result of the one bombing in Iraq.

Driftglass makes an astute observation about the Malkin/AP story disaster:

If the AP has been clowning with information from Iraq, we need to know it. Period. And investigations need to be held. And I would loudly cheer on such an effort...after we have a full and thoroughgoing account {emphasis mine} of the crimes, lies and war profiteering of the Bush Administration.

As soon as we hold to merciless account those who blew 9/11, who lied us into Iraq and blew that too, who let New Orleans die, who have tried to convert their lethal failures into quick cash for their cronies and political hay for themselves...after all of that then let's definitely find out if AP got some of the details of its reporting of George Bush's Iraqi debacle wrong...read on

Seeing the Forest: It's starting...Patrick Leahy has introduced the War Profiteering Prevention Act

The Huffington Post: The animated "training video" the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs have made for doctors at veterans' hospitals to help them understand and treat troops coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-deployment mental health issues is absurd, insulting and dangerous.

Early Warning: Washington loves gossip and nothing satisfies the beast more than organizational and pesonnel changes that trigger still more, uh...organizational and personnel changes.  We call it rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic

Needlenose: Can Joe Biden stop the war in Iraq?

HOLY CRAP: This Christ-tacular Pentagon video ought to scare the crap out of any freedom-loving American...We expect this crackpot to predict mass killings but why does CNN lap it up?...Crummy Church Signs...In Kansas, no news is bad news...

The Reality-Based Community: George W. Nixon

Nitpicker: Is the Wall Street Journal treasonous?

The Opinion Mill: Welcome to Neckville

Looking for Someone to Lie to Me: The Government Accountability Office, Congress's highly respected, non-partisan inspectorate, has found that the White House's National Strategy for Victory in Iraq is a complete failure...

The Agonist: The story of the $14.5 million Healthcare Centers in Iraq...BushCo's collusion in Halliburton's war profiteering at the expense of our Military...and Bringing Home the Homeland Security Pork

Vagabond Scholar: Will GOP Senators Kyl & Graham face any consequences for lying to the Supreme Court?

Politics in the Zeros: Last Saturday, Los Angeles police, in a naked display of brutality, clubbed protestors at a protest in Hollywood. On Tuesday, the National Lawyers Guild and ANSWER LA announced they will file multiple lawsuits against LAPD

(I've had a few problems with Word Press today. I tried to change a few things and it ended up deleting articles. If anything is missing I apologize)

Jane tells us about Dick Durbin's frustration:

"It's been reported that Dick Durbin was just on CSPAN deeply upset by this latest revelation and no wonder. It was Durbin who wrestled with his conscience, who couldn't tell the public during the run-up to war what he well knew because it was classified: that there was serious dissent within the intelligence community about whether or not WMDs actually existed...read on"

Booman Tribune has some great posts up today, but this one about Judy Miller's role in all of this is excellent.

Digby: This is not an honest administration and the idea of trusting that they are limiting their illegal national security activity only to "terrorists" is ludicrous, whether it's the NSA spying, Guantanamo, war profiteering or anything else.