An excellent resource for this is the book 'Steal this Idea' by Michael Perelman.
It contains many examples of pharmacuetical companies withholding drugs or treatments.. I don't understand why more people aren't angry about this... On Fri, 30 Jun 2006 10:01:38 -0400 (EDT), [EMAIL PROTECTED] said: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > (Sorry if you get more than one copy of this message, but I felt > that it was urgent to get this important info out.) > > The values of freedom and openness are crucial to understanding > itself, so that civilization and public welfare now depend on > them, as I argue below. These values may find their best > expression in the free and open source software (FOSS) movement, > and the foresightful example of FOSS developers should now be > beneficially applied to many other disciplines in the context of a > global and public Internet. > > It is crucial that we occasionally take time to discuss the > reasons _why_ we release our source code, and this is one of > those occasions. There are good reasons for the freedom and > openness which are characteristics of FOSS development, reasons > which should receive wider attention now that they can be readily > communicated to other arenas. The consequences of doing otherwise > are often catastrophic. > > For example, it incomprehensible that Genentech could consider > withdrawing a cheap cure for blindness (ARMD) from the market. > > http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/random-bits/2006-june/001374.html > > The mechanism of this drug is public knowledge. > > http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_id=14183567&forum_id=6042 > > This abhorrent situation is a great example of the kind of thing > that will happen if people don't get behind the values of freedom > and openness that we are espousing. Please let Genentech know > that you find what they are doing offensive. Publicize the mechanism > so that new compounds can be obtained as replacements. For the > future, continued vociferous public activism is required to prevent > such outrages from occurring in the future. > > It becomes clear that the compounds which come from common roots, > fruits, and vegetables are a shared human heritage and the free and > open source of the future. Tannins are another interesting case in > point, because as molecules, and as anti-oxidents, they are similar to > resveratrol (resV), and that molecular mechanism has been anchored to > the public domain via a prior art declaration. It is a so-called > CR-memetic, which may increase healthy human longevity by many > decades. Here are some links about it. > > Resveratrol mechanism posts from GNU-Darwin list > http://proclus.gnu-darwin.org/gdposts.html > > CR protocol for human bodies > http://proclus.gnu-darwin.org/bootstrap.html > > Here is some important recent news about it. > > http://www.imminst.org/forum/index.php?s=&act=print&client=printer&f=237&t=10749 > > It is exciting to suppose that people can get off the pharmaceuticals > that they are taking with calorie restriction or CR-memetics. I > personally am trying to get off the cholesterol drug Pravachol, a > statin compound, starting a few of weeks ago. Write me, and I'll let > you know how it turns out. From the article... > > "Fontana says ... evidence of "younger" hearts in people on calorie > restriction, suggest that humans on CR have the same adaptive > responses as did animals whose rates of aging were slowed by CR." > > I think that it is time to look at the tannins in tobacco leaves. > There may be other treasures lurking there too. As you may be > aware there is ample public research into any possible beneficial > compounds that may be obtained from tobacco leaves. The mechanisms > are there waiting to be discovered. If you want to post them, just > reply to me and I'd be delighted to host them. > > The public establishment of prior art is a time-honed method of > entering inventions into the public domain. We now have other > methods at our disposal as well. If you are planning to establish > prior art against future CR-memetic related patents, you might want > to have a look at www.creativecommons.org. Perhaps it goes without > saying at this point that you should please choose a license that > provides for free and broad public access to your memetic. > > In that way you will assure that the public health is served by > anchoring them to the public common, where they cannot be exploited > by those who would withhold them for their own profit. The DRM > situation is precisely analogous to this. Can you imagine doing > science in a world where your ability to read and write your data is > filtered through secret protocols that are hidden from you? I > recommend the Defective By Design campaign to fight the outrage of > DRM, which is incompatible with the scientific pursuit. > > http://www.defectivebydesign.org/ > > It is clear that scientific tools must be demonstrably and > penetratingly understood, or else our claims will likely be skewed > and called into question. Free and open source software is > a great example of how to make your science verifiable to the > public. Establishing prior art against future patents is > another good one, which is precisely analogous in method, > making the result explicit to the public, free and open to all. > Thank goodness for the free and open software movement, which > gave us such a great example of how to serve the public in this > manner. > > I am willing to grant that there are particular exceptions to > these rules of freedom and openness, and such exceptions may be > relatively harmless; however, let us posit the opposite, that > freedom and openness are _not_ crucial to understanding. Think of > the implications. When people are compelled to learn, they do not > receive the intended message. It is not understood correctly > or completely. When crucial facts are withheld from the people > you are trying to teach they become paranoid, possibly unteachable. > Freedom and openness are obviously the best approach to understanding. > > This is not a metaphor for the pursuit of science, but a fact. > We are learning from nature, and it is ultimately required that > our tools be demonstrably and penetratingly understood, or else > we will receive incorrect lessons from nature. Clearly this > requires public access to the source code and more. This > is why many of us are pressing for public access to scientific > publications. > > Moreover FOSS tools are becoming ever more important to the > pursuit of the scientific endeavor itself. In our biophysics > department we are obsolescing proprietary hardware and software > in favor of open standards and free software, which is a > widespread phenomenon in the science sector, and sure to continue. > We build most of the workstations ourselves with commodity hardware, > but we also have some clusters running Debian and FedoraCore. > > Some of you will know that I am the lead developer for the > GNU-Darwin distribution. GNU-Darwin has a FOSS operating system, > which is getting alot of press these days. Here is an example > > How Apple and Microsoft are advancing desktop Linux > http://www.desktopLinux.com/news/ns7294331817.html > > I see the article as counter-productive against building a FOSS > coalition that includes democracy, freedom, and public access > activists, Apple, GNU-Darwin, GNU, and GNU/Linux all linked > together in spectrum. > > It is important to alert the whole FOSS community that Darwin > cannot be classified as a free or open source operation system > as of the Darwin-8 revision, because AppleACPIplatform-39 which > is required to boot the system is proprietary. It is notable that > only the current version of Darwin from Apple is a non-free OS. > GNU-Darwin has a free version, an earlier revision that includes > the source code. It is FOSS, and we call upon Apple to maintain > Darwin as such, as it has been in the past. We hope that the > current situation with the kernel and ACPI driver will soon be > remedied so that Darwin will continue as a FOSS OS. > > We are asking for free software developers to please write to the > *nix core of Darwin, which is the core OS for both Mac OS X and > GNU-Darwin OS. Darwin OS, which underlies both systems, comprises > parts from GNU, the BSD's, mach, plus Apple's substantial > contributions to the free software community. Be consistent with your > philosophy and avoid linkage to proprietary binaries, such as OpenGL > and CoreAudio, except when it is imperatively required in order to > lead users to the values of software freedom. Under that principle, > another reason to maintain compatibility with the *nix core, is so > that your code will be readily portable to new platforms and usable > by free-software-only aficionados too. > > GNU-Darwin OS is not an obsolete implementation of Darwin OS, or to be > superseded by Mac OS X. We are trying to lead users to freedom, not > away from it. By maintaining Darwin core compatibility your code will > remain valuable as the marketplace and industry continues to evolve > (trust me here), particularly as DRM-related problems continue to come > forward. Of course, that means releasing your source code under a FOSS > license, such as APSL. Darwin OS is a free and open source operating > system that is not going away, so try to focus your coding towards > supporting that standard instead of proprietary software. > > Here is the essence of the current problem with Darwin OS. Apple > replaced working boot code with the following proprietary drivers, > which are required for the system to boot. > > Darwin-7: > AppleAPIC.kext/ > Applei386genericplatform.kext/ > > Darwin-8: > AppleACPIplatform > > In addition the kernel (xnu) has been taken proprietary in the > recent revisions. We are not asking for Apple to give away such > things, but rather to continue maintaining Darwin OS as FOSS, which > it already was. > > After repeated attempts by many FOSS developers to get this > situation remedied, nothing has happened. It is now time for us to > better use the measures at our disposal in order to assure that > Darwin OS remains free and open. If you are unhappy that xnu and > the boot drivers have not been released, I would encourage you to > spread your dissatisfaction to other forums, so that Apple will take > notice and commit to a workable free and open Darwin OS from now on. > > Moving on to coalition strategy now, some of you may not know that > GNU/Linux system administration is one of my day jobs. I manage a > wide range of systems. Here is a screen-shot of my work desktop, so > that you can see I use the same tools at work that I use at home at > night on GNU-Darwin. (weekends too, so please read I am your friend) > > http://proclus.gnu-darwin.org/debian.html > > The only time that I ever use proprietary software is when I am trying > to help other users learn free and open source free software. I'm a > long time Apple and GNU/Linux user, and here is the old proof doc ;-}. > > http://proclus.tripod.com/indulge.html > > Now, it is embarrassing but, I want you to have a look at my cv. > > http://biophysics.med.jhmi.edu/love/thesis/cv6.html > > In all my years I have never used Microsoft Windows. There are only > two exceptions to this statement, where I was helping Windows users to > access our servers at Hopkins. Clearly, you can get a few things done > without it ;-}. > > One of the primary reasons for founding GNU-Darwin was to help people > to put Microsoft behind them, and it is definitely possible to do it > now. You have many resources at your disposal to help you leave > Microsoft behind. Look at the link below to see what you can do > with free software. Apple, GNU-Darwin, GNU.org, and GNU/Linux will > all help, and we are largely all helping together, because we have a > shared foundation of free software. > > http://www.gnu-darwin.org/gdc/ > > Microsoft is only one example. That is why we are so insistent that > Apple keep true to free and open source software principles. We > should ultimately try to leave all proprietary software behind us, so > that we can participate fully in the freedom and openness of the > internet culture and public domain. What more do we need, when we > have such a rich store of information and so many capable people at > our sides? > > Finally, as a scientist, it is obvious to me that this situation is > relevant current and ongoing discussion in the scientific community, > and as such, it is also clear that many members of the various lists > would be interested in the current state of Darwin with respect to > FOSS and with respect to science. > > Here is the crucial point. > > The principles of FOSS and scientific inquiry converge. In > practical terms, how else can you know is what happening in your > experiments? Free and open source software, open standards, best > promote the scientific endeavor by mirroring its method, but also > they assure that the work is accessible to the public. > > Freedom and openness are crucial to understanding, and foundational > to the scientific endeavor, and they should not be compromised. > There are a few examples of exceptions, but clearly, this matter > will find further debate in the appropriate forums. We should not > quell debate because a few people are offended or complaining. > - From a scientific perspective that would be incorrect. > > On that last point, I would suggest that Apple get on the right side > of the debate, and they will make tremendous headway. Now is the > time. > > Some people will find this message annoying and divisive, and the > delete button is ready at hand for them, but other people will find > it interesting and engaging. All as you like. Let us not quell > discussion because a few people are annoyed. > > Some will call this a troll, but I hope that folks will see through > such name-calling. Trolls are mythological creatures, so don't > believe in them. Everyone has a right to have their opinion > heard, even if those opinions are divisive or unpopular. It is > clear that the idea of trolls is being used to attack freedom of > expression. In fact, freedom of expression demands that we > listen to the so-called-trolls sometimes, and if you are civil, it > helps, so don't resort to name-calling. > > On cross-posting; when there are matters of urgent importance that > affect a broad range of subscriber lists, courtesy must sometimes > take a back seat, and cross-posting is an example of that. > Cross-posting is to be encouraged when the subject of the post is on > topic. Each of the various lists will respond in the way that seems > appropriate to the people in that forum, and the threads on the > various lists will diverge accordingly. As the threads diverge, the > cross-posting addresses should be removed as needed. Relevance to > all people is an unattainable goal, but messages of the broadest > applicability should have the broadest reach, and discussion should > not be stymied because some find it irrelevant. I have given this > method due consideration; it is not trolling, not spam, not off-topic, > and cross-posting is an example of something that is sometimes > required according to the felt importance and relevance of a given > subject matter. > > In summary, Freedom and openness are now the bedrock of our > civilization and public welfare depends on these values, so that we > should actively engage ourselves in preserving and making them happen. > In keeping with these principles it is crucial to note that there are > exceptions to etiquette, otherwise free expression will be overly > channeled, damped, and ultimately suppressed in our forums. This > notion of courtesy will certainly receive additional consideration, > but meanwhile, let us together get to work on the activism now. > > Duly, I am amenable to valid criticism and able to respond, but please > reply with kindness. Obviously, feel free to write back, copy, or > send these comments along to anyone else as you see fit. > > Regards, > Michael L. Love Ph.D > Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry > School of Medicine > Johns Hopkins University > 725 N. Wolfe Street > Room 608B WBSB > Baltimore MD 21205-2185 > > Interoffice Mail: 608B WBSB, SoM > > office: 410-614-2267 > lab: 410-614-3179 > fax: 410-502-6910 > cell: 443-824-3451 > http://www.gnu-darwin.org/ > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (Darwin) > > iD8DBQFEpIl6u0oI3iz5oZcRAtpQAJ9X7D6kq1vmWKXkG/3LBvx3gGrK1QCZAbgI > 8Ww6QABLiZtmFmS9Ekea5nI= > =a0Oy > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > > _______________________________________________ > CWE-LUG mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.cwelug.org/ > http://www.cwelug.org/archives/ > http://www.cwelug.org/mailinglist/ -- Erich Friesen [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Does exactly what it says on the tin _______________________________________________ CWE-LUG mailing list [email protected] http://www.cwelug.org/ http://www.cwelug.org/archives/ http://www.cwelug.org/mailinglist/
