Category Archives: Profiteering

All show-no go - spin, healthcare, Profiteering

Drugmakers refuse to attend White House meeting after Trump issues executive orders on costs – watch how fast WH retreats in next few weeks. All show, no go…

A White House meeting with top pharmaceutical executives that President Donald Trump promised for Tuesday is off, five industry sources familiar with discussions told POLITICO. Three said the drug-pricing discussion was canceled because the major drug lobbies, reeling from Friday’s cluster of executive orders on the topic, refused to send any members.

Source: Drugmakers refuse to attend White House meeting after Trump issues executive orders on costs

Fail!, Profiteering

Companies Owned by This Billionaire Governor Received up to $24 Million in Bailout Loans — ProPublica

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his family received between $11 million and $24 million from a federal coronavirus economic relief program. His luxury resort received up to $10 million, but did not promise to retain jobs because of the loan.

Source: Companies Owned by This Billionaire Governor Received up to $24 Million in Bailout Loans — ProPublica

Fail!, pandemic, Profiteering

How Mis- And Disinformation Campaigns Online Kneecap Coronavirus Response – Note

NewsGuard, a startup by two former journalists that vets the internet for misinformation, has identified 217 websites in Europe and the United States that publish “materially false” information about COVID-19. The volume is so great that NewsGuard, which was launched to check political fabrications, has pivoted to full-time COVID-19 fact-checking.

 

Source: How Mis- And Disinformation Campaigns Online Kneecap Coronavirus Response – Note

healthcare, human rights, pandemic, Profiteering

US buys up world stock of key Covid-19 drug remdesivir | US news | The Guardian – (3-month supply from sole source Gilead – who recently bought a lot of Gilead stock?)

The Trump administration has now bought more than 500,000 doses, which is all of Gilead’s production for July and 90% of August and September. (Sets stage for only rich getting the medicine and Gilead getting $3,000 per patient)

Source: US buys up world stock of key Covid-19 drug remdesivir | US news | The Guardian

Fail!, Profiteering

Two Friends in Texas Were Tested for Coronavirus. One Bill Was $199. The Other? $6,408. – The New York Times

The emergency room charged Mr. Harvey $199 in cash. Ms. LeBlanc, who paid with insurance, was charged $6,408. “I assumed, like an idiot, it would be cheaper to use my insurance than pay cash right there,” Ms. LeBlanc said. “This is 32 times the cost of what my friend paid for the exact same thing.” Ms. LeBlanc’s health insurer negotiated the total bill down to $1,128. The plan said she was responsible for $928 of that. During the pandemic, there has been wide variation between what providers bill for the same basic diagnostic test, with some charging $27, others $2,315. It turns out there is also significant variation in how much a test can cost two patients at the same location.

Fail!, Profiteering, Traitor

After Functioning for 28 Days, U.S. Election Regulator Will Be Powerless Again – The New York Times – AKA: Koch Brothers buy out commissioner to cripple agency that monitors elections.

Ms. Hunter, whose resignation will take effect July 3, said that she planned to join Stand Together, a philanthropic organization founded by the billionaire Charles G. Koch. She has served on the commission since 2008, when President George W. Bush nominated her to the post. Her term technically expired in April 2013, and she and two fellow commissioners — one Democrat and one independent — have continued to serve beyond their respective terms while waiting for the president and the Senate to replace or renominate them.

Fail!, immigration, pandemic, Profiteering, unsafe-food

Corona in the Slaughterhouse: The High Price of Cheap Meat – DER SPIEGEL

The coronavirus outbreaks in the meat plants – with 1,400 cases in the Rheda-Wiedenbrück factory alone, combined with lockdowns this week in the regions surrounding the towns of Guterslöh and Warendorf – is forcing us not only to address the question as to why the virus is able to spread so quickly in slaughterhouses. It is also shining the spotlight on the industry as a whole: What actually goes on in the meatpacking industry? What conditions are workers forced to endure? And is it worth it for a couple slices of ham on your breakfast sandwich?

Source: Corona in the Slaughterhouse: The High Price of Cheap Meat – DER SPIEGEL