Author: KJ McElrath

More Than One Quarter of the World’s People are Suffocating From Toxic Air – And They’re Children

More Than One Quarter of the World’s People are Suffocating From Toxic Air – And They’re Children

Posted by | Nov 1, 2016 | , |

UNICEF has issued a disturbing report: 2 billion children on this planet are living with elevated levels of toxic air pollution. Worse, 15% of those children – 300 million of them – are living in regions that suffer from the “most toxic levels of air pollution.” The World Health Organization defines that as 500% of its base standard. It should come as little surprise that well over half of these children live in Africa and South Asia. In China, air quality has become so dismal that a Canadian company has been successful in marketing canned air in that country....

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When “Natural” Cures Can Harm: Homeopathic Teething Gels Might be Causing Seizures in Young Children

When “Natural” Cures Can Harm: Homeopathic Teething Gels Might be Causing Seizures in Young Children

Posted by | Oct 31, 2016 | , , |

Given Big Pharma’s track record, it’s understandable why increasing numbers of people are turning to “natural” cures. However, these products, such as Hyland’s Baby Orajel Naturals and Baby Teething Tablets, can be just as harmful – as many parents now filing lawsuits against the company are discovering. For at least ten infants, that product might have proved fatal. Hyland’s products have been around for over a century, intended to provide relief to infants when their teeth start coming in. The company touts this treatment as “homeopathic,” making “nights bearable, days livable, and truly make the teething years way more...

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The Third Stryker: Another Artificial Hip is Recalled: Lawsuits Next

The Third Stryker: Another Artificial Hip is Recalled: Lawsuits Next

Posted by | Oct 27, 2016 | , , |

For the third time in five years, Stryker medical has had to recall an artificial hip product due to defective design. That product is known as the LFIT Anatomic Cobalt-Chromium V40 Femoral Head. Affecting all such implants made before 2012, the recall was announced at the end of August of this year. As was the case with similar products, the implants in question have been associated with severe injuries requiring revision surgery and metal poisoning, and once again is resulting in lawsuits against Stryker. The LFIT V40 was intended to replace the upper end of the thigh bone, or...

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Falling Down On The Job: Drug Companies Allow Controlled Substances to Wind Up in the Hands of Street Dealers

Falling Down On The Job: Drug Companies Allow Controlled Substances to Wind Up in the Hands of Street Dealers

Posted by | Oct 27, 2016 | , , , |

It seemed like a good idea at the time: instead of going after people who participate in the black market for prescription narcotics, the Drug Enforcement Agency decided to target the drug manufacturers and force them to monitor their wholesale distributors. Their logic: if drug companies kept track of their own shipments and maintained close supervision over the shipping and distribution, it would be easier to prevent those prescriptions from falling into the hands of street dealers and addicts. In most cases, the strategy actually worked. However, at least 13 drug wholesale companies fell down on the job. As...

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AT&T Merger With Time-Warner May Go Ahead Without FCC Review: Corruption Loophole

AT&T Merger With Time-Warner May Go Ahead Without FCC Review: Corruption Loophole

Posted by | Oct 26, 2016 | |

The “merger madness” continues unabated. Over the past weekend, telecom and media monster AT&T announced its plans to buy Time-Warner – a vast empire in and of itself that controls CNN, HBO, TNT, TBS in addition to several film franchises (including the Harry Potter and Batman series). This announcement comes in the wake of AT&T’s recent acquisition of satellite provider DirectTV. Should this deal go through, it would create one of the largest media corporations in history. Obviously, this is a great deal for stockholders and executives (the CEO of Time-Warner stands to make $100 million), but it’s a...

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