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Today I’d like to show why the practice of paying for dates on sites like Match.com and eHarmony […]
No date has been set, but congressional leaders are already vowing to hold hearings on the circumstances leading up to Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine explosion Monday that killed at least 25 West Virginia coal miners. Here’s the latest release from the House Education and Labor Committee, where Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), who heads the workforce protections subpanel, state they’ll hold hearings “at the appropriate time.”
Over the past few years, we have met too many family members who have suffered the tragic loss of loved ones in a mine disaster. On behalf of the committee, we promised them that we would do everything we could to learn the cause of these tragedies and to keep miners safe. Today, we extend this same promise to the families and community dealing with a devastating loss.
Considering the long list of violations cited at the Upper Big Branch mine, there should be plenty to talk about.
The wife of a man who committed suicide on Neurontin, an antiseizure medication manufactured by Pfizer, has settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the drug’s maker.
Linda Shearer, of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, brought the Neurontin suicide lawsuit against Pfizer after her husband, Hartley Shearer, died in 2002. Shearer’s lawsuit alleged that Pfizer’s Warner-Lambert subsidiary failed to properly warn patients and doctors about the increased risk of suicide from Neurontin side effects.
While details of the Neurontin settlement remain confidential, Bloomberg News reports that the Pfizer agreed to pay about $400,000. Trial in the case was already underway in the U.S. District Court in Boston when the deal was reached.
Neurontin (gabapentin) is an epilepsy medication approved by the FDA in 1983, which generated $387 million in sales for Pfizer in 2008.
There are currently about 1,200 Neurontin lawsuits pending against Pfizer, most of which have been brought by plaintiffs who say that Neurontin increased the risk of suicide. In 2008, the FDA required Neurontin and similar epilepsy drugs to begin carrying label warnings alerting users to the risk of suicidal thoughts. All federal lawsuits over Neurontin have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris.
The Shearer settlement came just days after another federal jury in Boston found Pfizer of guilty of illegally promoting Neurontin for off-label uses, and hit Pfizer with $142 million in damages in a case brought by the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., a subsidiary of Kaiser Permanente. Shearer’s lawsuit also claimed the company had promoted the drug for off-label uses in her lawsuit.
While doctors are free to prescribe drugs for uses not approved by the FDA, manufacturers are prohibited from marketing the drugs for such uses that they have not established are safe and effective.
In 2004, Parke-Davis, a division of Warner-Lambert that was acquired by Pfizer, paid $430 million to the U.S. Justice Department over claims that they were illegally promoting Neurontin for off-label uses, including control of mood swings. Last fall, Pfizer paid the Justice Department $2.3 billion to settle a number of off-label marketing claims which included its marketing of Neurontin.
We’ve recently written about GE’s accelerated push into next-generation “thin film” solar technology. In the post below – excerpted from tech blog greenbiz.com today — Danielle Merfeld, who is director of Solar Technologies at GE Global Research, tackles the topic of “Why it’s time to take solar seriously.”
“The ongoing debate today is whether solar photovoltaics (PV) will emerge from its niche position within the energy sector to become a larger part of our power generation portfolio,” Danielle writes on greenbiz.com.”
“Because solar PV has been in development for 60 years, you could easily assume that it might be another 60 years before it becomes a major energy source. But speaking from within a company that has supplied 25 percent of the world’s power generation technology, that future could arrive sooner than many realize.
“Right now, PV costs are higher than other solutions today — including other renewables. But the overall trends and recent progress within the PV industry reveal that solar is poised for major growth…. PV module costs are 10 times cheaper than what they were 30 years ago. Even more impressive is the greater than 30 percent reduction in installed PV systems costs in the U.S. — and even deeper reductions in Germany where competition has become more fierce over the past decade.
“Despite the financial crisis, investor interest in solar technology continues to be strong. Solar PV held the distinction of having more venture capital and private equity funding funneled into it than any other technology on the planet from 2006 to 2008.
“These investments and others have borne advances such as cheaper, more efficient thin film PV modules, and micro inverters that enable safer, modular, scalable rooftop systems complete with built-in communications. Companies like GE and others are working to address the integration challenges of putting large amounts of variable resource onto the electrical grid through advanced controls and communications, as well as looking at important storage issues….
“Although electricity demand is down in North America, Europe and Japan, we also should not underestimate the need for future replacement generation. Coal retirements by 2015 alone could account for a sizable chunk … Another trend that could disrupt our expectations for power generation requirements is the electrification of vehicles. A gradual shift to electric cars in the U.S. (10 percent by 2020) would create a new source of distributed demand….
“Of course, there are potential downsides as policy changes could delay or inhibit growth, and integration challenges to grid infrastructure could delay high penetration of PV generation on the grid. But even still, the trend is unmistakable.”
* Read her full post on greenbiz.com
* Watch “Cracking the thin film solar code in GE’s 4 global labs” on GE Reports
* See our interview with Danielle: “Catching rays with ‘solar sails’” on GE Reports
* Read about our thin film solar partnership with PrimeStar Solar
* Hear more from the scientists at GE Global Research
* Read more Global Research stories on GE Reports
* Read “Cheers! To a decade of innovation at GE’s labs” on GE Reports
[JURIST] Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and several nearby provinces in response to escalating political protests. The state of emergency was declared after protesters, known as red shirts, broke into Parliament earlier Wednesday, causing government officials to evacuate. Under the state of emergency, which took effect immediately, public gatherings are banned, police are given broader powers to arrest and detain, curfews can be instituted, the government may censor media reports, and detainees can be held for 30 days without access to legal counsel. Abhisit stated his goals during the institution of the state of emergency include putting an end to escalating violence and restoring normalcy.
The declaration comes just days after a Thai court dismissed the government’s application for an injunction against protesters gathered in Bangkok’s business district. The injunction would have ordered protest organizers to lead the group out of the area and would have banned rallies in 11 other areas. The court denied the request stating that the Internal Security Act, approved by the Thai Cabinet in March, already gave the government eviction powers. The red shirts are supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed from power in 2006 following a coup. The group is demanding that Abhisit dissolve parliament and call new elections. Last April, Abhisit declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and several provinces following a similar outbreak of protests calling for his resignation.
Lisa Rinna will make a guest appearance on the NBC comedy Community this Thursday, April 8.
The trout-pouted actress will play Shantai, a character inspired by the socialite stars of Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise.
“She’s too tan, she works out too much, you know the rest. It’s me to a tee,” Rinna joked of her cougar character.
An anonymous administration official runs an idea up David Ignatius’ flagpole: Frustrated with the poor-to-intransigent pace of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which are barely at the “indirect” phase, President Obama is considering proposing his own Mideast-peace plan. That’s something the two-state-solution community urged him and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to pursue after last month’s friction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Jerusalem settlements.
Ignatius reports that it would take a wide, regional focus:
The American peace plan would be linked with the issue of confronting Iran, which is Israel’s top priority, explained the second senior official. He described the issues as two halves of a single strategic problem: “We want to get the debate away from settlements and East Jerusalem and take it to a 30,000-feet level that can involve Jordan, Syria and other countries in the region,” as well as the Israelis and Palestinians.
“Incrementalism hasn’t worked,” continued the second official, explaining that the United States cannot allow the Palestinian problem to keep festering — providing fodder for Iran and other extremists. “As a global power with global responsibilities, we have to do something.” He said the plan would “take on the absolute requirements of Israeli security and the requirements of Palestinian sovereignty in a way that makes sense.”
This has apparently come with the aid of foreign-policy greybeards from both parties, like Brent Scowcroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Sandy Berger, Frank Carlucci, Robert MacFarlane and Colin Powell. The administration certainly leaked that to frame this prospective initiative as a consensus view. (Because, frankly, it is.)
That, and the other specificity cited by Ignatius — the administration could start interagency discussions modeled on the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy and unveil a plan by the fall — support the initial judgment that this has already been well-discussed internally. On the other hand, it could be a shot across Netanyahu’s bow, telling him that if he doesn’t take some confidence-building measures — and soon — the Obama administration will launch its own very big peacemaking agenda, and that’s not going to be something Israel will want to be viewed as opposing.
Taking they bromance to higher heights,American-born and South African based Jonathan ‘Ziyon’ Christian and Thabo ‘Ryzor’ Shokgolo, well known as “Liquideep”. This duo have released a master piece titled “Fairytale” which features the dark and lovely ambassador and V-Entertainment host Nonhle Thema as a the leading lady.
The record is perfectly executed and deserves all the success it’s receiving. “Fairytail” is a mid-tempo house track that is very intimate but yet simply from one mans confession of his love pursuit..
This is a song for both the young and the old and hope you heart it like i do, click on the link to hear this masterpiece:Liquideep – Fairytale ft Nonhle Thema
In this Washington Times story about the fairness and legality of organizations using interns, labor law blogger Jeffrey Hirsch, associate professor in the UT Knoxville College of Law, explains how the bad economy may be encouraging the trend of using interns and how this trend could be undermining the purpose of wage laws.
Colorado-based Crocs, Inc. (CROX) is marketing its new footware line with the slogan “Feel the Love.” But that motto probably also describes how retiring President and CEO, John Duerden, feels after negotiating the terms of his departure from the company.
Longtime readers may recall that Crocs has been a footnoted frequent flyer for several years now (a few recent examples are here, here, and here). However, most of those stories pre-date Duerden’s arrival; he joined the company just over a year ago — at the end of February 2009.
Duerden came to Crocs after leaving the Chrysallis Group, a consulting firm he founded in 2006 that specialized in developing and renewing brands. He was 68 years old at the time and had been an executive at companies such as Reebok.
The terms of Duerden’s employment agreement gave him an $850,000 base salary, a $350,000 signing bonus, 400,000 restricted shares of stock and an equal number of options, and other benefits. Interestingly, the agreement did not give Duerden any guarantee that the position would be his for a particular number of years; in fact, it stated that it “shall not be for any specific term and shall be subject to termination at will by either Executive or the Company for any reason upon written notice to the other party.”
That day arrived just over a year later. On March 1, 2010, Duerden relinquished both his position as an executive and as a member of the board of directors. Although the company announced Duerden’s retirement then (and named John McCarvel as his successor), the parties had not yet negotiated the terms of Duerden’s departure. It was just yesterday that Crocs filed this Separation Agreement, dated March 31, 2010.
According to the document, Crocs will pay Duerden $1.7 million in cash in September and it will accelerate the vesting for Duerden’s 100,000 shares of restricted stock shares and another 100,000 option shares. Even with the stock currently trading at $8.90, the early vesting of those equities is worth a lot to Duerden. Crocs will also pay him $336,000 for his 2009 annual incentive compensation, and it will continue to pay the employer portion of health care premiums for Duerden and his family through February, 2011 (unless Duerden ceases to be eligible for COBRA health insurance continuation). In exchange, Duerden signed a release and agreed not to compete against Crocs, solicit its customers and vendors, and protect its propriety information.
With that kind of severance package, wouldn’t any of us “Feel the Love”?
Many an argument has been settled by comparing the number of Google search results, and while the initial victory is satisfying I never would’ve thought we’d see a Wii game inspired by it. More »
I’ve been missing in action the past few days. I guess I just feel like it is pointless to post in this thing at times since no one reads, haha. oh well, I like to do it, so I will just do it for myself.
In my last post, I photographed 3 books that I purchased–vegetarian and vegan. Have I decided to change my eating habits? Read on to find out more…
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I worked the weekend, and then on Monday, I was invited onto a boat with my aunt, uncle, mom, and stepdad. We drove all throughout Tierra Verde gawking at the mansions and giant boats.
We anchored at a shell island for lunch
I think kale chips are perfect if you’re part of a CSA and subsequently have tons of leftover kale….however, that will not be an issue for me any longer.
why?
I BOUGHT A VITAMIX!
I mulled over what to spend my team award on. It was generous this year, for sure. In all reality, I should have saved it, but let’s face it, there’s a lot of things I should be doing and usually I DO, but I just kind of want to do something for myself. I received the shipping email this morning:
The amount of cash sitting on the sidelines in the U.S. economy fell to US$3.827-trillion as of the end of March 2010, according to data from the Federal Reserve. Defined as the sums in money market mutual funds plus small time deposits at U.S. commercial banks, the figure hasn’t been this low since September 2007.
It also represents a marked decline from a peak of US$5.015-trillion in 2009. But the real question is will investors continue to redeploy their excess cash?
National Bank Financial’s chief economist and strategist, Stéfane Marion, thinks they will. He says it is important to keep in mind that despite the significant decline of the past year, the level of sidelined cash remains above its historical average relative to the size of the economy.
The analyst also noted that history shows that cash as a share of GDP continues to decline in the months that follow the confirmation of job creation, as investors are heartened by the prospects of a sustainable recovery.
The last two recessions have shown that when interest rates are low, the cash-to-GDP ratio can fall by roughly six percentage points in the months that follow the confirmation of job creation.
“This is good news for the economy and financial markets,” Mr. Marion says.
Now here is an interesting tidbit of information for you guys. Renault-Nissan and Daimler announced officially that they will be working together on developing future projects. This is something that has been in the works for months according to industry insiders. The merger comes at a perfect time for Daimler as they have been looking for partners to help them in developing their small car line. Since Renault already has a 44% stake in Nissan the synergy seems to be perfect.
Right now it looks as though Daimler will get 3.1% of Renault and 3.1% of Nissan, while Nissan-Renault will take a 3.1% share of Daimler.
Read more at: USAToday.com
We’ve all heard the old saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but do you know why? We’re here to share all the facts and science behind this theory which proves that your parents and grandparents were right after all!
Found under: BlackBerry, Freeware, Dictaphone, Speak, Write, Dictations,
Read more in mobile format
According to a report by AutoCar, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 that we saw at the 2010 New York Auto Show last week is expected to share its body shape with the upcoming AMG SLS Black Series, due to go into limited production in 2013.
Besides carrying a heftier price-tag, the SLS AMG Black Series will get a reworked 6.2L V8 engine that will boost output from 563-hp to 600-hp. Torque will be increased to 500 lb-ft. Besides the reworked engine, AMG engineers will add a larger air manifold, higher compression ratio, reprofiled camshafts and other unspecified tweaks.
“We’re not at the limit with what’s out there the moment. There’s still a good deal more to come from the engine,” says AMG engine boss Friedrich Eichler. “We’re saving the best until last.”
According to insiders, 0-62 mph should come in under 3.5 seconds and top speed should hit around 208 mph.
Yes, we’re already drooling.
All Photos Copyright © 2010 Roman Bronfenbrener – egmCarTech.
– By: Kap Shah
Source: AutoCar
The traditional iSuppli component breakdowns that attempt to put a neat little number on what a product actually costs to build appeal to a primal part of us, the part of us that wants to know, “Did I get screwed?” More »
Dean Kamen is both notoriously shy and uninterested when it comes to media appearances, but Stephen Colbert was able to lure him in with his earnest, unrelenting, right-wing agenda. And Kamen even brought his DARPA-funded bionic Luke Arm. Full video: More »
This morning, Goldman Sachs, among the most lucrative of the Wall Street firms, released an eight-page shareholder note, a preface to its 2009 annual report, which will be out later this month.
Underscoring the extent to which taxpayers saved bankers during the crash, the words “Washington” and “government” and “conservative” crop up constantly in the way the word “profits” used to. The letter opens by praising the government’s extraordinary measures during the financial crisis.
“[W]e have embraced new realities pertaining to regulation and ensuring that our financial strength remains in line with our commitment to the long-term stability of our franchise and the overall markets,” it says. “We became a financial holding company, now regulated primarily by the Federal Reserve and subject to new capital and leverage tests.”
But it’s no mash note to Washington. Goldman spends nearly a third of the letter on defense – clarifying its positions on its relationship with bailed-out insurer AIG, its employees’ compensation and the notion that it stoked the market for mortgage-backed securities while betting against the housing market.
It says that Goldman Sachs never “bet against [its] clients” by shorting “residential mortgage-related products in 2007.” The note argues, “[the shorts] served to offset our long positions. Our goal was, and is, to be in a position to make markets for our clients while managing our risk within prescribed limits.”
“The firm did not generate enormous net revenues or profits by betting against residential mortgage-related products, as some have speculated,” chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein and president Gary Cohn argue. “Rather, our relatively early risk reduction resulted in our losing less money than we otherwise would have when the residential housing.”
Yves Smith writes a good debunking of some of Goldman’s claims. My question: Why so defensive now? The note — addressed to shareholders — defends the firm’s actions from years ago against criticism it has incurred for more than 18 months.