The Medill School of Journalism's Washington Program revealed its Pentagon Travel project last week (
multimedia).
Most privately paid for travel was found to be
within the bounds of federal law, but some still show a clear
conflict of interest.
Key findings: From 1998 through 2007, sources outside the federal government paid for more than 22,000 trips worth at least $26 million. The medical industry paid for more travel than any other outside interest — more than $10 million for some 8,700 trips, or about 40 percent of all outside sponsored travel. Among the targets: military pharmacists, doctors, and others who administer the Pentagon’s $6 billion-plus annual budget for prescription drugs.
Medill acquired 10 years worth of trip data and partnered with the Center for Public Integrity to form a
searchable database which includes destination, date, sponsor, sponsor nationality, cost of trip or agency.
posted by Smedleyman
on Jun 16, 2009 -
3 comments
Be a hero on your own time (VIDEO) When McDonald's employee Nigel Haskett
interceded to stop a man who was beating a woman in the restaurant, the assailant went outside, retrieved a gun from his car and shot Haskett – “multiple times,” as the employee stood at the door to keep the assailant from re-entering the restaurant. $300,000 in medical bills later, McDonald's insurance says no dice: "we have denied this claim in its entirety as it is our opinion that Mr. Haskett's injuries did not arise out of or within the course and scope of his employment."
posted by thisisdrew
on Feb 19, 2009 -
104 comments
Human fat was supposed to alleviate rheumatism and arthritis, while a paste made from corpses was believed to help against contusions.... For some Protestants,... , it served as a sort of substitute for the Eucharist, or the tasting of the body of Christ in Holy Communion. Some monks even cooked "a marmalade of sorts" from the blood of the dead.
. . . . The assumption was that all organisms have a predetermined life span. If a body died in an unnatural way, the remainder of that person's life could be harvested, as it were -- hence the preference for the executed.... In 1492, when Pope Innocent VIII was on his deathbed, his doctors bled three boys and had the pope drink their blood. The boys died, and so did the pope.
When we read about
Burundians and
Tanzanians murdering albinos to make "medicine" of their victims, we should not forget that
European Medical Cannabalism was an accepted practice as late as the 18th Century.
posted by orthogonality
on Feb 1, 2009 -
51 comments
Win a free MRI machine: An odd medical equipment distribution scheme, winanmri.com will give away a free MAGNETOM to the hospital that gets the most votes for their submitted video. (videos on right hand side).
posted by edgeways
on Nov 11, 2007 -
14 comments
You need organs, they need homes. "We are a domestic and international adoption agency where parents are free to adopt a child who is a perfect match (up to 18 yrs) for the transplant of one or more “non-essential” organs to be donated to one of the adopting parents or your own children. Your new son or daughter would give you their heart, if it was possible, but a lung, eye or three feet of intestine might be enough to prove that love."
[more inside]
posted by mathowie
on Sep 19, 2007 -
73 comments
Wellcome Images This collection of thousands of high-quality images includes anatomical images, rare books and manuscripts, posters, photos, and more. Also includes galleries on war, witchcraft, wellness, and other subjects.
posted by hortense
on Aug 30, 2007 -
10 comments
Diseases of the Skin by Gary M. White & Neil H. Cox. All you ever wanted to know about how bad your skin could be - full of images. Possibly NSFW, as some groin photos are included.
posted by youngergirl44
on Jan 3, 2007 -
31 comments
Having a filthy mind, I'm able to come up with several non-medical uses for the
Digital Rectal Examination Simulator. However, when I noticed that the company selling the device was Japanese, I realized that the intended use is most likely as a way to hone your skills away from the arcade for the video game
Boon-Ga Boon-Ga.
posted by jonson
on Jan 17, 2006 -
24 comments
Medical Malpractice Myth explores the idea that it's not litigious patients, ambulance chasing lawyers and runaway juries behind the rising costs of medical malpractice insurance. It's the increasing occurrence of medical malpractice that's driving those insurance rates up.
posted by jperkins
on Dec 18, 2005 -
105 comments
