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US Keeps China, Puts Canada on IP Priority Watch List (reuters.com)
The Trump administration on Friday labeled 36 countries as inadequately protecting U.S. intellectual property rights, keeping China on a priority watch list and adding Canada over concerns about its border controls and pharmaceutical practices. From a report: The U.S. Trade Representative's annual report on global IP concerns is separate from the "Section 301" report on Chinese technology transfer practices that has led the world's two largest economies to threaten each other with tariffs. The so-called "Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights" calls out China for its "coercive technology transfer practices" and "trade secret theft, rampant online piracy, and counterfeit manufacturing." It was the 14th straight year that China was placed on the "Priority Watch List." U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is due to travel to China next week along with other senior Trump administration officials for talks on U.S. demands for changes in Beijing's trade and intellectual property policies.
Ironically enough the countries on the list don't innovate anything, they just steal other's work. Developing drugs costs money. None of the breakthoughs would exists without a profit motive.
I call bullshit - many many breakthroughs were made by scientists doing 'pure' science. We would NEVER have had, for one random example, lasers, if there had been a profit requirement behind the scientists doing the fundamental science that made it possible.
Actually when it comes to downloaded pirated videos, there's almost no way for content providers to come after you in Canada. In Canada, content providers are never provided the address or personal information of a subscriber because doing so would be a breach of Privacy. They actually need to be granted a search warrant first which is expensive and time consuming. All ISP's do is forward any warning messages from Content Providers to subscribers but there's no real obligation for a subscriber to do anything other than to toss it in the trash.
We would NEVER have had, for one random example, lasers, if there had been a profit requirement
Lasers were developed at Bell Labs and Hughes Research Lab, which were both operated by for-profit companies. They funded research labs in the expectation that the R&D would be profitable.
The ISP can terminate your account if the problem persists enough though.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Because in Canada they actually care more about the common people interests versus big corporations; which is what democracy should strive to be, politicians voted in by the public should actually look after common people's interest. I'd argue it is even common sense that RIAA or whatever big corporation interest group should not have the power to bankrupt an average consumer who is not commercially profiting, but again in Canada it is also quite unheard of for someone to go bankrupt due to medical issue either.
This is yet another tale of corporate oligarchy extracting their government sponsored payola.
A pain killer that as $138 in 2013 is now $2979 (http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/15/investing/drug-prices-vimovo-horizon-painkiller/index.html )
https://www.chausa.org/publica...
This is how they (the GOP) will ultimately kill medicare.
If we ever want to bring health care costs, and being care to the masses, these companies must be broken. This is no longer about profit but gouging. The only way to get this country back is campaign finance reform.
One thing Canada doesn't allow is direct-to-consumer drug advertising. US commercials are filled with "Are you feeling XXX? Perhaps you have condition YYYY. Consult your doctor and see if ZZZZ is right for you!". This is one way to bypass generic drugs - if you're asking for them by name, there's no option to buy the generic version of the same drug.
And pharmacists here are generally quick to ask if you'd want a generic or the branded stuff - it can affect things like extended health drug coverage -
One thing Canada doesn't allow is direct-to-consumer drug advertising. US commercials are filled with "Are you feeling XXX? Perhaps you have condition YYYY. Consult your doctor and see if ZZZZ is right for you!". This is one way to bypass generic drugs - if you're asking for them by name, there's no option to buy the generic version of the same drug.
Well, it's a little more complex in Canada. You're allowed to advertise a drug name, but not what it treats, or you can advertise a condition but not a drug to treat it. This is how you get some rather cheeky Viagra and Cialis advertisements, and a lot of advertisements on various conditions that just say "talk to your doctor if you feel this way".
...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
No hyperbole, it is people crossing the border illegally. I have no problem with people legally immigrating to Canada, the neighborhood I live in is 40% immigrants. But when both US and Canadian governments allow it to happen it is an affront to the people who are legally immigrating, IMHO.
"Roughly 75 per cent of the 25,000 asylum seekers who crossed into Quebec last year did so illegally and the government is anticipating a surge in migrants arriving again this year."
https://globalnews.ca/news/415...
"Officials said Monday it is expecting about 400 people to cross the border through forests and wooded areas every day this summer — up from 250 each day last year."
https://globalnews.ca/news/414...
Foreign nations don't own all the US debt. Most of the debt is actually borrowed against the future value of social security, or some such financial nonsense.
Honestly I don't understand how it works but as of February only $6trillion or so is owed to foreign countries.
Considering that the 2017 annual US tax revenue is $1.9 trillion, calling 6 trillion dollars of debt means big problems for the US.