How Stupid Are They?

[up148]

GREED Like most everything else in our world.

BH

GREED, now you sound like Rufus.

True is true. I to believe greed is at the root of most bad things in the world today, but without it we might not have the breakthroughs we have. But, when pharmaceutical companies won't invest in new antibiotics, due to low return on investment and we have new super resistant bugs that no known antibiotic with kill, that is greed.

How about the little shit pharmaceutical company executive who raised the price 5000% on his cancer drug that worked...that's greed.

Many more examples. Most everything in today's world is motivated or corrupted by greed.

BH

[Rufus T. Firefly]

But, when pharmaceutical companies won't invest in new antibiotics, due to low return on investment and we have new super resistant bugs that no known antibiotic with kill, that is greed.

Or is just reality? When it costs 100 million to bring a new drug to market and not make any money, that tends to kill a company pretty quickly. The requirements and cost to develop drugs is largely not well understood or appreciated. The Van Pelt economics model doesn't work well in this case until well after the drug is off patent for a while. And, there's the other 1/2 of the problem - it takes so long to get a drug approved that there is very little time left on the patent to insure recouping the investment - that pushes prices through the ceiling.

How about the little shit pharmaceutical company executive who raised the price 5000% on his cancer drug that worked...that's greed.

It wasn't a cancer drug - anti-parasite drug. Raised the price by a factor of ~50.

They recently convicted him of 3 counts related to securities fraud.

[webenda]

How about the little shit pharmaceutical company executive who raised the price 5000% on his cancer drug that worked...that's greed.

BH

Daraprim: $13.50 => $750 = 5456% increase.
Cycloserine: $500 => $10,800 = 2060% increase.
Doxycycline: $20 => $1,849 = 9145%

Regarding Daraprim: Daraprim, known generically as pyrimethamine, is used mainly to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasite infection that can cause serious or even life-threatening problems.

Daraprim, was acquired in August, 2015 by Turing Pharmaceuticals, a start-up run by a former hedge fund manager. Turing immediately raised the price to $750 a tablet from $13.50.

“This is still one of the smallest pharmaceutical products in the world,” Martin Shkreli, the founder and chief executive of Turing said. “It really doesn’t make sense to get any criticism for this." Shkreli added, "The drug is so rarely used that the impact on the health system would be minuscule."

Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/21/busi ... tests.html
https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... aud-trial/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34320413

[HONDO74]

ESPN pulls Asian-American announcer from Virginia football game because he has a Confederate general's name
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/20 ... -name.html

In the wake of the events in Charlottesville, Va., ESPN decided to pull one of its announcers from calling a University of Virginia football game -- because his name is Robert Lee.

Lee, an Asian-American sportscaster who started with the network in 2016, was moved to a different game "simply because of the coincidence of his name," ESPN said, referencing the Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

[E7]

Just calling them stupid is being too kind, they are *sses, just like our boy Shkreli.

[HONDO74]

Former undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson is looking to crowdfund enough money to buy Twitter so President Donald Trump can't use it.

Wilson launched the fundraiser last week, tweeting: "If @Twitter executives won't shut down Trump's violence and hate, then it's up to us.As of Wednesday morning, she had raised less than $6,000 of her $1 billion goal.

Wilson wrote on the fundraiser's GoFundMe page that she hopes to raise enough money to buy a controlling interest in Twitter stock. If she doesn't have enough to purchase a majority of shares, she said, she will explore options to buy "a significant stake" and champion the proposal at Twitter's annual shareholder meeting.

If Plame were to hit her $1 billion goal, she'd still fall far short of gaining a controlling interest in the company. As of Wednesday, a majority stake would cost roughly $6 billion. But a $1 billion stake would make her Twitter's largest shareholder and give her a very strong position to exert influence on the company.

Personally I hope she gets the money and buys twitter. The country can use a good dose of an attack on the 1st amendment.

The first amendment is presently more vulnerable than the second amendment.

[E7]

Yes, and clown fish are all born male (according to latest information) and when the one dominant female, who rules the roost, dies, one of the males changes to female and becomes the dominate bitch. BH

Izzat the "Bruce Jenner" fish???

[Rufus T. Firefly]

"If @Twitter executives won't shut down Trump's violence and hate, then it's up to us.

They have zero interest in stopping him - he's making money for them!!!

Personally I hope she gets the money and buys twitter. The country can use a good dose of an attack on the 1st amendment

Has nothing to do with the 1st amendment or free speech - it's an owned platform just like this forum, a business that has terms of use agreements, and if the owners want to restrict content, it's well within their purview to do so at their discretion at any time.

The first amendment is presently more vulnerable than the second amendment.

Always has been.....

[up148]

You know, Michael Douglas said it well in "American President".

“You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.”

The problem is we have a polarized nation and neither side is willing to let the other speak out, without starting violence. Their opinion is important to them, but they are unwilling to let someone else express theirs. I know it happens on both sides, but Trump sure brought out those Democrats who don't seem to see this. During his campaign, when he was elected and pretty much anytime he says or does anything they don't like, we have protest and not just marches, but looting, burning cars, breaking windows, etc.

I'll admit, he is a major disappointment for a President and the least eloquent president we've ever had, by a factor of 10, but there is way too much protest (and violent protest) in this country. We now look like a 3rd world country.

BH

[HONDO74]

Has nothing to do with the 1st amendment or free speech - it's an owned platform just like this forum, a business that has terms of use agreements, and if the owners want to restrict content, it's well within their purview to do so at their discretion at any time.

While your statement is correct, for me this was all about a left wing radical wanting to buy the business for the purpose of keeping the president from using it. I love how they think.

So while they are out there protesting with violent confrontations they are not accomplishing anything.

Never heard of this group called "Antifa" before, but apparently they are the ones causing the violent confrontations. They see violence as the was to accomplish their goals.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Has nothing to do with the 1st amendment or free speech - it's an owned platform just like this forum, a business that has terms of use agreements, and if the owners want to restrict content, it's well within their purview to do so at their discretion at any time.

While your statement is correct, for me this was all about a left wing radical wanting to buy the business for the purpose of keeping the president from using it. I love how they think.

Doesn't matter too much to me - I'd like them to pull his account just to keep him from daily proving how amazing deluded he is and to keep him from embarrassing himself anymore.

They really should consider doing what Photobucket did and institute a tier of pay to play accounts and make his a business account - make a buck!

So while they are out there protesting with violent confrontations they are not accomplishing anything.

Never heard of this group called "Antifa" before, but apparently they are the ones causing the violent confrontations. They see violence as the was to accomplish their goals.

Are you implying that violent confrontations and protests are solely associated with the left? I think that there's plenty to go around from both sides.

[HONDO74]

Are you implying that violent confrontations and protests are solely associated with the left? I think that there's plenty to go around from both sides.

From what I have been seeing, I would say it appears the left is now the ones that have become violent. I do believe this is going to change as the country heads into a civil war.

Or maybe the world will be engaged in a Nuke war first.

[robert.]

If twitter charged. Then it would be the American people paying for trumps account. I'd lay 12-1 odds that the lady gets hit by the IRS if she gets 1 billion!

[up148]

If we take just the past decade, how many right wing protests were staged against Obama and how many left wing protests against Trump. Not saying the right is correct, just saying the left is more radical and violent. I'm disgusted with Trump and couldn't stand Obama. If Trump were as polished and eloquent as Obama, much of what goes on might not happen. But, he's a crude, stupid, egotistical b*stard that will eventually get what's coming to him; sadly he's destroying the country in the process. I liked part of his message, he's just not even remotely close to the right person to deliver it.

BH

[HONDO74]

There is a big difference between being Stupid and Acting Stupid. Trump might appear to be acting Stupid but he is not Stupid. He is not going to ruin the country. He is a capitalist and he and his family have way to much to lose if that happens.

Who knows, maybe this twitter crap is just a game with him to keep the left wing media and the democrats off guard. They are so occupied with this they don't know what is going on internally unless there are some leaks. It looks like they might have that under control with all the latest changes.

He was not a DC insider or politician so he does not operate like they do. So if he were to change and become a lying politician like the rest of them would that make everyone happy.. I am not making excuses for him as he has me confused also at the present.

The 2 things that I see most important for the country are jobs and health care, so what is going on for that. Nothing that I can see.