First, ALS research is not an especially great need in public health. It is classified as a rare disease and, thankfully, only about 600 people die from it every year in Canada. That sounds like a lot, but that is not even close to the top 20 most fatal diseases according to StatsCan (the top three being cancer, at 72,000 deaths per year; heart disease, at 47,000; and cerebrovascular disease, 13,000).

Who gets to decide who lives or dies? This is exactly whats wrong with the way pharmaceutical companies approach diseases, its all about the ROI.

Just because a disease is rare and not as much people die from it does not mean that those people don't deserve a second chance at life. The ALS challenge was meant to drum up interest in (you guessed it) ALS... not other issues which I can guarantee are plentiful. Instead of bitching like a little twat, why not figure out ways to raise awareness for other diseases and work on fun and clever ways to raise money for them. Sure there is always going to be people trying to drum up attention to themselves, or use the fad to their advantage (I'm talking to you Samsung)... but in the end, if the deed is good, why be such a buzz kill.