THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUG COMPANIES

This is a great book! The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It. the author is the former Editor in chief of The New England Journal of Medicine, Marcia Angell, M.D. You can buy it paperback for about 10 bucks. If you want to understand better why your western trained medical doctor doesn't really have the best tools at his disposal to help your health, this is a great first start. Click here to buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Drug-Companies-Deceive/dp/0375760946/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214318449&sr=8-1

Let me quote the first page of her preface:

I show that, contrary to its public relations, the industry discovers few genuinely innovative drugs, spends less than half as much on research and development as on marketing and administration (these two are inexplicably combines in drug company annual reports), and consistently has profit margins ar above those of most other Fortune 500 industries. The argument that it needs to charge ever-higher prices to cover its research costs is simply not true. I also show how drug companies put most of their efforts into turning out higher-priced versions of existing medicines (called "me-too" drugs) and persuading us to take more and more of them. (emphasis mine.) And I describe how the pharmaceutical industry uses its immense wealth and power to co-opt nearly every institution that might stand in it's way--including the U.S. congress, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the medical profession itself.

Recipe of the Day:
My own Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup expensive, $16 a bottle balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves crushed
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt (or six twists on a sea salt grinder)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pepper (or 12 twists on a black pepper grinder.

Shake like mad in a lidded jar, and shake well again before serving.

Going Once, Going Twice ...

JOKE from http://www.rd.com/

Three women, obviously old friends, had just finished having dinner at the table next to me. When the waiter came with the bill, one said, "Give it to me."
"No. You got it last time," said another. "It's my turn."
The waiter stood there, unsure of what to do -- until the third woman said, "I'm the biggest tipper." He handed her the check.