cynicow.com

Emergent’s rival, VaxGen Inc. of South San Francisco, had spent four years developing a new anthrax vaccine and had won an $877.5-million federal contract to deliver enough doses for 25 million people. The contract threatened Emergent’s very existence. The old vaccine, its only moneymaker, would likely be obsolete if VaxGen succeeded.

Emergent responded by mobilizing more than 50 lobbyists, including former aides to Vice President Dick Cheney, to make the case that relying on the new vaccine was a gamble and that the nation’s safety depended on buying more of Emergent’s product.

New anthrax vaccine doomed by lobbying - Los Angeles Times

In late October, without warning or any public discussion, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) notified 19 dairies that “their labels are false or misleading and need to be changed.” So, what kinds of labels were so terrible that the PDA felt they had to be removed from milk cartons immediately? Labels that told the consumer that the cows that produced the milk had not been given any artificial hormones. Examples of some of the supposedly “misleading” labels include, “Our farmers’ pledge: no artificial growth hormones;” “From cows not treated with the growth hormone rBST;” and “Free of artificial growth hormones.” As of February 1, 2008, these labels will be illegal.

Missing: Truth in milk labeling: Consumer Reports on Safety via Consumer Reports

Even as hundreds of millions of Chinese struggle in rural hardship, the ruling Communist Party is committed to clambering into the select ranks of global space powers, and Chang’e 1’s journey has been accompanied by a stream of patriotic propaganda.

China waxes lyrical over moon mission pictures - Yahoo! News

Am I the only one that thinks the Amazon Kindle is less about making it easier for you to read books, and more about making it easy for Amazon to sell you books?

A Video Demonstration of Amazon Kindle

LATER: According to Slashdot, Amazon’s Kindle Sells Out In 5.5 Hours, and according to TechCrunch, Kindle: Web Browsing Experience Is Horrible