Enforcer84 Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 You laugh, but I became a much less unhappy person when I consciously, and drastically, lowered my expectations for people in general. Of course that guy cut me off in traffic, he's a human, and humans are little better than hairless chimps. Of course that man is racist, he is trapped in a bubble of prejudice and propaganda that only logic and critical thinking could break him out of, and few people are so equipped. It is as though I'm one of a small number of sapient beings, living among a population of animals that have yet to be Uplifted, and I set expectations accordingly. I don't recall laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 It is as though I'm one of a small number of sapient beings, living among a population of animals that have yet to be Uplifted, and I set expectations accordingly. Never attribute to malice what can plausibly attributed to stupidity and malice acting in concert. Pattern Ghost and gewing 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Tired of 4K? http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/15/8k-sharp-japan/ Batband headband uses bone conduction to play music through your skull http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/135345-batband-headband-uses-bone-conduction-to-play-music-through-your-skull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Thirty Years After the 'Filthy Fifteen': Remembering the PMRC Hearing of 1985 Enforcer84 and Hermit 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 I'm very fond if Mr. Snider, and how he handled that witch hunt is one of the reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 Thirty Years After the 'Filthy Fifteen': Remembering the PMRC Hearing of 1985 “My wife and I are celebrating 34 years of marriage,” he says. “Al and Tipper Gore cannot say the same thing. None of my children have been busted for possession. Al Gore’s son was busted for possession. And am I bragging? Yes, I am. I didn’t throw stones at their glass house. They were throwing them at mine.” -Dee Snider gewing, Cygnia, BoneDaddy and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 I dimly recall that incident, but it was my last year of grad school and I was withdrawing into the monomania needed to finish one's PhD thesis, so I couldn't say anything more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 North Carolina prosecutes 19 yr old for having naked pictures of himself on his phone according to Woody and Wilcox CES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 North Carolina prosecutes 19 yr old for having naked pictures of himself on his phone according to Woody and Wilcox CES Here's an article on it http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/09/07/nc-teen-charged-adult-naked-pics-minor/ The system is just butt ugly insane *Sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 Volkswagon does it... again Oh noes, stocks have fallen... I loved Herbie as much as the next guy, but I'm not feeling much pity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 Meanwhile, in England... Cameron biography: Ashcroft makes new debauchery claims about student days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 http://fusion.net/story/200779/martin-shkreli-cancer-drug-finance-bro/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 Didn't he get fired for Share Related shenanigans recently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 http://fusion.net/story/200779/martin-shkreli-cancer-drug-finance-bro/ I saw this elsewhere. It is just obscene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 I saw this elsewhere. It is just obscene. He seems to be the kind of guy for whom it's all good as long as he makes money. A real vulture capitalist. You'll look in vain for any sort of moral compass. It's possible, because vulture capitalists like this guy have worked out that many niche medical products are natural monopolies, with only one supplier. This deal has hit the headlines, because of the 5000% increase .... but it's actually worse than that; because the company he bought the drug from, jacked the price from 1 USD per pill to 13.50, before he jacked it to 750 USD. So that's actually a 75000% increase in 6 years. And this is not an isolated case: I know of at least 5 others of the same kind in the last few months and I have not even been keeping paticularly close count - I am sure there are more. It happens because the barrier to entry for drug production is high, and for niche products like this, there is often only one producer. You need high quality requirements because if something goes wrong, you can end up with a lot of poisoned people. But that means the need to demonstrate safety requires millions of dollars invested and potentially years before you get approval. For niche products like this one, that's enough to stop competitors moving in to compete and drop the price. So it becomes a question of "Pay what we ask or go without and die." Didn't he get fired for Share Related shenanigans recently? Yup. He apparently used company funds to try and pay off investors he had fleeced when his hedge fund went under. A 65 million dollar lawsuit by his former employer is underway. cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 I saw this elsewhere. It is just obscene. Yup. This guy's lips are firmly affixed to Mammon's ass cheeks gewing and Pattern Ghost 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 So, article said "When asked on Bloomberg TV this morning why Turing had raised the price of Daraprim by 5,000%, Shkreli replied, 'We needed to turn a profit on the drug.'" Did it used to be one of those drugs that companies compassionately sell at below cost so people could afford it? And he just escalated it to what it should cost? I assume cost of production data is proprietary and not shared with the public. Or maybe he's just devoid of compassion. I'd have to see the numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 So, article said "When asked on Bloomberg TV this morning why Turing had raised the price of Daraprim by 5,000%, Shkreli replied, 'We needed to turn a profit on the drug.'" Did it used to be one of those drugs that companies compassionately sell at below cost so people could afford it? And he just escalated it to what it should cost? I assume cost of production data is proprietary and not shared with the public. Or maybe he's just devoid of compassion. I'd have to see the numbers. I'm familiar with the drug. It's an old antibiotic, decades off patent and as far as I know, has never been on tiered pricing (that's the deal where rich countries pay more to subsidise access for the poorest countries). The manufacturing price is confidential, but based on the cost of similar drugs, I'd expect it to be a bit less than a dollar per pill. These days it's only used for special, difficult-to-treat cases, because it has a high frequency of side effects, but it still has medical value because it's effective in a few cases where other antibiotics fail. It was available a few years ago at a low price because the original manufacturer was only producing it since there was no other source. They weren't making any money off it, just keeping it on the market for the patients who needed it. There's a fair number of legacy drugs like that around. So, no, there's nothing to suggest the new price reflects anything other than a desire to gouge customers who don't have an alternative. That opinion is backed by the fact that this guy has form. He started a company called Retrophin, whose business was based around buying up a niche drug with only one supplier and jacking up the price - only 2000% in that case. It made him pretty rich, but he was fired from there amid claims of embezzlement and insider trading in the company stock. Prior to that, he ran a hedge fund, which made him a lot of money, but went bankrupt, amid .... you guessed it, claims of embezzlement and insider trading. Technically speaking, what he is doing is not illegal. But you can gauge his degree of compassion by his response to the claim that some people would die because the price rise would price the drug out of reach. He responded by tweeting "Ain't my problem". Cheers, Mark gewing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 I'm confused, if it's an "old antibiotic, decades off patent" couldn't any company make it? I mean, that doesn't make this guy any less of a dick, but if the patent has lapsed I'm not seeing how he supposedly has some kind of monopoly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 Perhaps the market is so small that only one company is willing to make it, even if others saw an opportunity to undercut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 And for another company to make the drug, they'll have to invest in the production line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 Kind of a touching story. https://open.abc.net.au/explore/103775 Young woman with Down Syndrome, Autism, hearing impairment, and a cleft lip is a confidential document shredder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 I'm confused, if it's an "old antibiotic, decades off patent" couldn't any company make it? I mean, that doesn't make this guy any less of a dick, but if the patent has lapsed I'm not seeing how he supposedly has some kind of monopoly... Even creating a generic 'copy' of an off-patent drug has a huge entry cost in terms of tooling up, testing, and certification. It takes years and it might not be profitable to do so at all if the sale price is too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/feel-good-song-queen_560053bae4b08820d919a004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankL Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 Get bonuses on your wisdom checks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts