{"article":{"id":14212,"heading":"(Censored Alert) Project Censored","author":"Project Censored","created":"2002-01-20 15:15:15","modified":"2005-08-15 00:52:31","last_modified":"Mon, 15 Aug 2005 07:52:31","article":"
Check the Project Censored website for over 1,000 \r\ndirect links to
alternative, independent news sources:  http:\/\/www.projectcensored.org

If you come across news of great importance that \r\nyou're not seeing or
hearing about from mainstream sources, nominate the \r\narticle for
consideration as one of the top news stories of 2002 by sending \r\nthe
article, with name and date of publication and author's name, \r\nto
Project Censored.

Project Censored's review process for the \r\nCensored 2002\/2003 yearbook
has already resulted in an evaluative \r\nconsideration of hundreds of
news stories. With more articles being nominated \r\nevery day, Story
Management intern, Dana Small, provides the following \r\nsynopses of a
couple of  the more interesting stories in store so \r\nfar:


The following is an abstract of various articles detailing \r\nthe
relationship between The Carlyle Group and numerous political \r\nleaders
around the world.  The websites cited are:
1. Veritas Capital \r\nEquity News
http:\/\/www.veritascapital.com\/view_news.asp?ID=14
2. TomPaine.com
http:\/\/www.tompaine.com\/news\/2001\/10\/11\/
3. Washington Business Journal
http:\/\/washington.bcentral.com\/washington\/stories\/2001\/04\/16\/daily23.html
4. Truthout - Issues
http:\/\/www.truthout.com\/0662.Bush.Saudi.htm
5. Judicial Watch
http:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/press_release.asp?pr_id=1624
6. Emperors-clothes.com - BushLaden
http:\/\/emperors-clothes.com\/news\/bushladen.htm


Private equity firms create a capital fund by \r\nraising money from a
small group of investors to buy undervalued companies \r\nand resell them
for a profit. Defense companies are stable and less risky \r\nthan most
commercial businesses, and offer an opportunity to work on \r\nhigh
technology, global-scale projects.  The Carlyle Group, based \r\nhere,
headed by former U.S. Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci, is \r\nconsidered
by analysts to be one of the largest private equity funds active \r\nin
the defense and aerospace industry, with a $12.5 billion \r\ncapital
fund.  The Carlyle Group's focus on the defense and aerospace \r\nsector
comes from its extensive contacts here and in other world \r\ncapitals.
Former U.S. President George Bush is a senior adviser to the \r\ngroup,
and John Major, the former prime minister of Great Britain, \r\nwas
recently appointed as the chairman of the company's \r\nEuropean
operations

The Group employs a motorcade of former ranking \r\nRepublicans,
including Frank Carlucci, Jim Baker and Richard  \r\nDarman.  The Carlyle
Group even has lured the treasurer and chief \r\ninvestment officer of
the World Bank to the firm as a managing director and \r\npartner.  These
political powerhouses open doors overseas for Carlyle's \r\n\"access
capitalists\".  Bush specializes in Asia and has been in and out \r\nof
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (countries that revere him thanks to the \r\nGulf
War) often on business since his presidency.  The Carlyle \r\nconnection
means that George Bush Senior is on the payroll from \r\nprivate
interests that have defense business before the government, while \r\nhis
son is the president.  Baker, the pinstriped midwife of \r\n'Election
2000' was working his network in the 'stands' before the ink was \r\ndry
on Clinton's first inaugural address.  The Bin Laden \r\nfamily
(presumably the friendly wing) is also invested in Carlyle.  \r\nGeorge
W. Bush could, some day, benefit financially from his \r\nown
administration's decisions, through his father's \r\ninvestments.

Carlyle also gave the Bush family a hand in 1990 by putting \r\nGeorge W.
Bush, who was then struggling to find a career, on the board of \r\na
Carlyle subsidiary, Caterair, an airline-catering \r\ncompany.
________________________________


\"Freed from federal \r\nrestrictions, pharmaceutical companies are
flooding television with ads for \r\nprescription drugs.  What does it
mean for our health care when serious \r\nmedicine is marketed like
soap?\" - By Lisa Belkin

Mother Jones \r\nMarch\/April 2001
Abstract by Dana Small, Jan 4, 2002

Television ads \r\nfor prescription drugs, all but outlawed as little as
4 years ago, are now \r\nflooding the airwaves.  For nearly ten years ad
agencies, drug \r\ncompanies, and major television networks lobbied the
FDA for less restrictive \r\nads, and were successful in August 1997 when
the rules were \r\n\"clarified\".

Proponents of the new FDA policy argue that this is another \r\nstep in
the march for Patients' Rights.  Allowing such ads, among \r\nother
things, is the best way to inform consumers about available \r\ndrugs,
says a branch chief within the FDA.

Doctor visits by patients \r\ncomplaining of allergy symptoms increased
from between 13 to 14 million \r\nvisits a year from 1990 to 1998, to 18
million allergy visits in 1999.  \r\nIt adds an extra source of confusion
and frustration to the doctor\/patient \r\nrelationship when the patient
starts directing the treatment based on what \r\nthey learned on TV.

The ads send a strong signal that prescription drugs \r\nare just like
any consumer product - soap, cereal, etc.  Many doctors \r\nworry about
the dangerous liver complications that drugs called statins, \r\nwhich
have proven very effective at lowering cholesterol, have been \r\nknown
to cause.  They need careful physician supervision, however it \r\ntakes
time to speak to a patient about exercise, weight control, and \r\ndiet;
it takes less time to just write a prescription.

Glitzy ads can \r\nalso cause consumers to misunderstand the actual
purpose of the \r\nmedication.  Glaxo-SmithKline's drug Paxil, an
antidepressant approved \r\nby the FDA for the secondary purpose of
treating social anxiety disorder, can \r\ntoo easily be seen as a pill
for shyness rather than a powerful drug for a \r\nreal and debilitating
condition.

A study found that nearly half of \r\nrespondents believed that drug ads
are prescreened and somehow sanctioned by \r\nthe FDA.  The fact is that
the agency is \"forbidden by law from \r\nrequiring preclearance\".  All
the FDA is allowed to do is require that a \r\ncopy of the ad be sent to
its office when the ad begins to air.

It is \r\nlikely that some patients are getting stronger prescription
drugs when less \r\nexpensive, more easily obtainable drugs may be more
appropriate.  Last \r\nyear alone Blue Cross Blue Shield Association saw
an estimated \"25% increase \r\nin the cost of prescription drugs compared
with 6 to 8 percent for physician \r\nand hospital services\".

Advertising is also promoting drugs before many \r\nphysicians even get a
chance to learn all of the details of the \r\nmedication.  Also, one can
buy many popular prescription drugs over the \r\ninternet, without even
seeing a \r\ndoctor.





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