Category: News

Posted on

What is the Trump phenomena about?

http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36253275

http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36253275Why do rural blue color workers and rural college educated people love Trump?

The Guardian’s Thomas Frank, pointed out on March 7, 2016:  “..what motivates the supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump? I call it a “mystery” because the working-class white people who make up the bulk of Trump’s fan base show up in amazing numbers for the candidate, filling stadiums and airport hangars, but their views, by and large, do not appear in our prestige newspapers. On their opinion pages, these publications take care to represent demographic categories of nearly every kind, but “blue-collar” is one they persistently overlook.” Full Article

The Atlantic Monthly received letters from a range of people who support Trump for president in August 2015.  The reasons they quote are similar:

A self proclaimed Liberal who voted for Obama wrote: “Rather, I genuinely believe that Trump feels the need to fight for the country he loves. There once was a time when people could actually feel proud to be Americans, and Trump comes from a generation that experienced that feeling. Now, many are embarrassed to be associated with this country. Jobs are being outsourced with reckless abandon and this country is literally being hollowed out. Economic statistics do no justice to this reality, and the average American knows this to be true.”

An undecided voter writes: “..the preeminence of political correctness among the culture class indicates a momentous shift away from formerly prominent middle-class cultural values and towards something entirely different. Even if Donald Trump were to accomplish little in his presidency, I think there is a hope that were he president, he could in some way alter that prevailing Washington/media culture and set a new cultural tone. Many would probably question why, of all people, a decadent, rude, and pompous billionaire should be trusted to meddle with American culture? I think it comes down to a perception that America has already drowned in a post-modernist nightmare of moral relativism, from which extreme political correctness and protest culture stem. Trump, on the other hand, is all absolutes.”  Full Article

Kathy Kramer shared with Kevin Drum in an interview for Mother Jones, November 8, 2016, that her political science study showed this:

“What I was hearing was this general sense of being on the short end of the stick. Rural people felt like they not getting their fair share. That feeling is primarily composed of three things. First, people felt that they were not getting their fair share of decision-making power….Second, people would complain that they weren’t getting their fair share of stuff….And third, people felt that they weren’t getting respect….So it’s all three of these things — the power, the money, the respect. People are feeling like they’re not getting their fair share of any of that.” Full Article

So let’s take a close look and let’s see if what they feel is true.

The Brookings Institute states that Republican States have more entrenched poverty than Democratic States. Republican districts have more poor residents overall: 25.1 million poor people lived in red districts in 2010-14 compared with 22.7 million in blue districts.

Between 2000 and 2010-14, the poor population grew faster in red districts than blue. The number of people living below the poverty line (e.g., $24,230 for a family of four in 2014) in Republican districts climbed by 49 percent between 2000 and 2010-14 compared with a 33 percent increase in Democratic districts. As a result, Republican districts accounted for 60 percent of the increase in the nation’s poor population during that time. At the same time, poverty rates rose by similar margins in both red and blue districts (3.3 and 3.2 percentage points, respectively).

Table 1. Congressional Districts with the Fastest Growth in Poor Population, 2000 to 2010-14

Party State District Representative Percentage Change in Poor Population   Share of Poor in Suburbs
R NV 3 Heck, Joseph J. 268.4% 51.0%
R GA 7 Woodall, Rob 223.6% 100.0%
D GA 13 Scott, David 213.1% 100.0%
R AZ 8 Franks, Trent 188.5% 93.5%
R AZ 5 Salmon, Matt 177.7% 50.4%

Source: Brookings Institution analysis of decennial census and American Community Survey data

Hunger in Rural Communities is higher than Urban

According to the United States Department of Agriculture report, Household Food Security in the United States in 2014, 14% of U.S. households were food insecure at least some time during the year. The prevalence of food insecurity was higher in rural areas than metropolitan areas.

Food Insecure Households

Source: Household Food Security in the United States in 2015, page 14.

The Digital Divide created by lack of Internet Access

55 percent of people living in rural areas have access to the speeds that currently qualify as broadband, while 94 percent of the urban population does. As of 2015, 74 percent of households in urban areas of the U.S. had residential broadband connections, compared with only 64 percent of rural households. This gap has persisted over time. Research reveals that  adoption can help improve the economy in these rural areas (including increasing income, lowering unemployment rates and creating jobs). In addition, we know that roughly 40 percent of the rural-urban adoption gap is because rural areas don't have the same level of broadband access. This is because large providers are not interested in serving these communities and in some instances have refused Federal Subsidies to get rural communities connected.

Source:  http://phys.org/news/2016-06-technology-rural-broadband-access-problem.html#jCp

Suicides in Rural Areas are double of those than in Cities

A study by the JAMA states that Suicide is a serious public health problem. For youths between the ages of 10 and 24 years, suicide was the third leading cause of death in 2010 behind only unintentional injuries and homicide.1 Males are at higher risk, accounting for 81% of suicide deaths in the 10- to 24-year age group. Suicide risk increases with age, with 6% occurring in individuals younger than 15 years, 34% in those between 15 and 19 years, and 60% in young adults aged 20 to 24 years.1

Rates of suicide also vary by rural-urban residence, with higher rates in rural compared with urban areas. Suicide rates among rural men were higher than those of urban men, with rural-urban differences widening over time. Higher rates of suicide attempts have also been reported8 among rural compared with urban adolescents. The studies conclusion stated Although low population density per se may be operative, efforts to improve access to mental health services and offer social support at the local level could narrow the gap in risk for youths in rural as opposed to urban settings. Additional study is warranted and of potentially great public health significance. Full Article

Rural communities as our research shows are genuinely struggling with problems that are not adequately addressed by neither the major political parties nor the major media outlets.  It seems that one of Trump’s appeal is that at least give this audience the feeling they are seen and heard. While this does not qualify him to do anything about the issues he has succeeded in mobilizing millions of Americans to vote for him to “stick it to the elite.”  Rural people are angry for having been ignored as their lives have grown ever more depressing. Trump has pulled them out of this feeling of helplessness and he has unleashed their anger.

Next we will investigate why a supposedly educated people would vote for Trump.

Posted on

Dealing With Difficult People and Problems

The election has shown us that there are very difficult people in the world.

Whether in politics, at work, or in a health care situation, often you frankly have no choice about who you work with.  So how do you deal with difficult and challenging people?   The good news is that powerful negotiation skills can be learned.

Difficult negotiation partners
Difficult negotiation partners
Become a More Effective Negotiator

Great leaders are great negotiators. By equipping you with the innovative negotiation strategies you need to excel at the bargaining table, Negotiation and Leadership will help you:

  • Improve working relationships and resolve seemingly intractable disputes.
  • Understand your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) to gain a better understanding of your options.
  • Evaluate your personal tendencies in the face of conflict and learn to manage your bargaining strengths and weaknesses.
  • Recognize the most common manipulative negotiation tactics used by difficult people —and ways to neutralize their effects.
  • Win, not by defeating the other side, but by winning them over.

Negotiation and Leadership distills cutting-edge research and real-world examples into three days of targeted executive education negotiation training. At Negotiation and Leadership, you will test your beliefs and assumptions, overcome emotional and rational biases, examine complex negotiation scenarios, and discover a range of competitive and cooperative, integrative negotiation strategies.

Register Now for the Spring 2017 classes. Click
Download brochures and learn more about the program:  Click

Enjoy our quick glance video about effective methods
About the program

Widely recognized as the preeminent leader in the field of negotiation, negotiation research, and dispute resolution, the Program on Negotiation (PON) is an interdisciplinary multi-university consortium based at Harvard Law School. Since its founding in 1983, PON has established itself as one of the world’s outstanding executive education negotiation training institutions.

Posted on

Bob Weir’s new album “Blue Mountain” introduced on Late Show

Bob Weir in younger days
Bob Weir in younger days

After his success with steady-rolling new folk-rock tune, “Only A River,” that features the Aaron Dessner, on electric guitar, and Scott Devendorf on bass and vocals, alongside Josh Kaufman, Ray Rizzo and Rob Burger. Bob Weir now announced his new CD.  Blue Mountain is a solo album by former Grateful Dead singer and guitarist Bob Weir, released on September 30, 2016. The album was inspired by his time working as a ranch hand in Wyoming when he was fifteen years old.  Musicians on the Blue Mountain album include Ritter, Nelson, Josh Kaufman, Scott Devendorf, Joe Russo, and The Walkmen’s Walter Martin, along with lyricists Gerrit Graham and Barlow. Josh Kaufman is producer along with Bob Weir himself.

Posted on

Patrick Henry said: “United we Stand, divided we fall.”

Throughout history there have always been ill mannered, dishonest men and women.  It is up to us if we let them tear us apart, or whether we use them as an inspiration to improve the fabric of our society.

For the past 40 years, we have allowed our wages to dwindle, our integrity as people and as states, and a country to dwindle.  We have stood by as investors have sucked ever more money out of the economy, and as the entertainment industry allowed philanderers, sexual predators and adulterers become pop idols.  We have allowed men and women into politics who abused their power for personal gain, and who have used blackmail to gain ever more power.

We all agree that this is not a wonderful situation.  Young women are raped at colleges, young men are raped in the army, unarmed people are shot in the streets and in parks, and management no longer is urged to build strong companies but instead they are representing themselves and the investors, who view themselves more and more as the “ruling class.”   Workers’ rights have diminished through lack of organization, and because many Union leaders are not reasonable and often corrupt.

We can be overwhelmed and start the “blaming” game, or we can pull together and hold ideals that we cherish up high for all to see.  We can stand together to give “the people” a voice once more.  This is not a matter of right wing or left wing.  This is not a matter of North or South, coastal states or inland states.

This is a matter of getting a back bone and uniting to stand up for what we know is right.  It is time that we stop the excesses of all the people who take advantage of those weaker than themselves.  It is time to unite to keep freedom of the press alive and to stop all people who think that dishonesty in whatever shape or form it takes, from holding positions in public office. Let’s evaluate one person at a time.  We know that when we are called to turn a blind eye to people who support those who have no regard for truth, justice and honor we are complicit.  This has nothing to do with politics. It is a matter of personal responsibility and decency.  If we don’t stand up for this free country, we will lose our freedoms.

Violence, dishonesty, adultery, sexual assault, oppression, slavery, should be pointed out in every corner of this country. When we shine the light on the truth and on what is really going on, we can make room for leaders who actually care and who are smart and honorable.

Right now one thing should be clear to everyone who is upset about what is going on, is that we all have a lot of work to do to clean up the mess we allowed this beautiful country to become.  As Patrick Henry said:  United we stand and divided we fall.  He also said:  “Give me liberty or give me death.”

The idea that we have to be silent about abuse, disgusting behavior, and oppression, greed, public theft, excesses, and sexual assault, assault on our water, earth, and air, about anything that is just plainly wrong, has been shaped by those who want to silence us so they can take advantage of us and take our rights away.

The US is the first free country and we should shout that from the mountain tops and across the sea.  United we stand and divided we fall.  By urging us to pick sides they want to distract from what is wrong on each sides.  Let’s pick truth, honor, justice and liberty for all.  We the people have a right to pursue happiness and right now we are not happy at all.

Posted on

Does ending forced labor (slavery) interfere with maintaining free markets? Should 21,000,000 lives matter.

Force Labor today - 2016
Force Labor today – 2016

It is amazing that we are “still” talking about this, right?   Jewish slaves that were forced to work for Germans, Japanese slaves that were forced to work in American camps, and Australian slaves had at minimum an “official” apology.  Some even received reparation payments for the maltreatment and theft their forefathers have experienced.  The “Black Lives Matters” recently put reparation payments for the descendants of American owned slaves back on the national agenda.  They are trying anyway.

A lot of people are so tired for those ancient stories.  Yet unfortunately they are not ancient stories they are current and very much part of the 21st Century stories.  According to the International Labor Organization approximately 21,000,000 slaves are alive today.  Yes, today!

Anti-slavery.org educates us that even today:

There are many different characteristics that distinguish slavery from other human rights violations, however only one needs to be present for slavery to exist. Someone is in slavery if they are:

  • forced to work – through mental or physical threat;owned or controlled by an ’employer’, usually through mental or physical abuse or the threat of abuse;
  • dehumanized, treated as a commodity or bought and sold as ‘property’;
  • Contemporary slavery takes various forms and affects people of all ages, gender and races.
Posted on

Good Guy Billionaire: Who is Marc Benioff?

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce - a values-based leader
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce – values-based leader

Marc Benioff is chairman and CEO of Salesforce, in a $106 Billion dollar industry, as businesses are expected to spend $106 billion on SaaS in 2016. He became a millionaire at age 25 and his ideas and followthrough have turned him into a billionaire.

Benioff created the 1-1-1 model of philanthropy, which leverages the resources of Salesforce to improve communities around the world: donating 1% of Salesforce’s product, 1% of its equity and 1% of employees’ time to help nonprofits achieve their missions. Today, more than 700 companies have adopted the 1-1-1 model through the Pledge 1% movement. Benioff and his wife, Lynne, have focused their personal philanthropy on children’s health, including building UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, as well as on public education, homelessness and other social issues. Marc and Lynne Benioff have made an extraordinary $100 million gift to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, which is officially renamed the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. See full press release and on Philanthropies.

In his book “Behind the Cloud,” Marc Benioff explains that every company needs to integrate the Hawaiian Spirit of Mahalo.  The spirit of gratitude and praise.  He remembered that when he used to work for Apple, as a programmer on the MacIntosh, what made him happiest were the fact that he could have fresh fruit smoothies.  So when he started Salesforce he provide fresh and healthy foods in the kitchen, a fully paid gym membership and after every product release he ordered massages for all his technical team as a big thank you, free yoga lessons with a renowned teacher and discount tickets on Hawaiian Airlines.

In order to inspire the team and create the all important team spirt, he created a peer reward system.  People could nominate their peers and the winners would receive $500 bonus checks for various recognition categories.  The most unusual award system were life size posters of distinguished employees for everyone so see and recognize.  One thing that always bothered him that in most industries sales people were “coin-operated.” They were rewarded exclusively with money.  At Salesforce everyone who met their sales quota would receive a 3 day fun filled experience in Hawaii with a friend or their partner.  It surely worked as between 45 to 65% of the sales people met the quota and received their trips.  In most sales organizations only the top 20% of the sales team is rewarded. By setting the bar within reach, the morale in the company soared creating a positive experience for the Salesforce team and their customers.

A pioneer of cloud computing, Benioff founded the company in 1999 with a vision to create a new kind of enterprise software company, with a new technology model based in the cloud, a new pay-as-you-go business model and a new integrated corporate philanthropy model.  Salesforce has been named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies five years in a row by Forbes Magazine, one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies in the software industry and a Fortune Best Company to Work For. 

Benioff has been widely recognized for his visionary leadership and pioneering innovations. He has been named one of the 50 World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune, Businessperson of the Year by Fortune readers, one of the Best CEOs in the World by Barron’s and received The Economist’s Innovation Award. Benioff is also a member of the World Economic Forum Board of Trustees.

Benioff believes that businesses are the greatest platforms for change in the world. He has embraced World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab’s multi stakeholder approach to leadership, serving not only shareholders but all stakeholders–including customers, employees, partners, communities and the environment–to make the world a better place. Benioff is also inspiring fellow business leaders to do the same. He led a group of CEOs and business leaders in opposing state legislation that discriminated against LGBTQ communities, and instituted a company-wide salary assessment at Salesforce to ensure men and women were being paid equally for comparable work.

Benioff is a 35-year veteran of the software industry. Prior to launching Salesforce, he spent 13 years at Oracle Corporation. He founded his first company, Liberty Software, which created video games, at the age of 15. He also worked as an assembly language programmer in Apple Computer’s Macintosh Division. Benioff received a B.S. in Business Administration in 1986 and an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in 2014 from the University of Southern California.

He is the author of three books, including the national best seller, Behind the Cloud.

He runs a most transparent company.  Enjoy his Keynote speech to his employees at the DX conference. Watch Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO of Salesforce kick off the TrailheaDX 2016 Keynote. He interviews special guest Corinne Warnshuis, Executive Director, GDI about the organization’s partnership with Salesforce. Recorded live on June 7, 2016.

Learn more on www.salesforce.com 

Posted on

Shrekli-style Greed: Who is Heather Bresch, Mylan CEO

Heather-Bresch-CEO-of-Mylan-speaks-to-Fortune-Most-Powerful-Women-summit-in-2015-410x220
Mylan Stock in free fall again.. Fortune Magazine (2015 Article)

Who is Heather Bresch? Did she not learn from the Shrekli affair? Did she not realize that the Pharma Industry is in dire need of an overhaul and governmental oversight?  If she did, she just doesn’t care.  Who is she? Where does such an awful misguided corporate CEO come from?

Heather Bresch grew up in Framington, West Virginia.  She graduated in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations, from West Virginia University.  She is the daughter of a Democratic Senator, Joe Manchin. After her under graduate degree she taught aerobics in San Diego before moving back to her home state as a 22-year-old newlywed in need of a job. Her father met the CEO of Mylan during a baseball game and urged him to hire his daughter in 1992.  She started with the company as a low level quality control clerk, where her job required her to type labels.  Mylan’s executive offices back then were located in a double-wide trailer in Morgantown.

She surely can be admired for having come a long way since then. So how did it happen?  Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Perhaps she loves making money at any cost? Her father a long time Senator for West Virginia has been accused of using his office to enrich himself.  Perhaps she is just “daddy’s little lady.” She seems to have very similar values as her father and her second husband.

Caught up in needless lies as nobody cares about the MBA

The Post-Gazette reported in 2007 only 8 years after Heather Bresch started her clerical position at Mylan that Ms. Bresch mysteriously ended up with an MBA, which initially was reported by Business Insider Singapore which listed 29 executives who had steep careers despite their “soft” MBAs. The University explained that she had completely only half of her course work. Apparently WVU initially told the Post-Gazette that the 38-year-old Ms. Bresch did not have an MBA, but reversed itself days later after she insisted she earned the degree in December 1998.  The article stated: “An Oct. 22 letter advising the admissions and records office to award Ms. Bresch the degree retroactively was signed by R. Stephen Sears, the Milan Puskar Dean of WVU’s business school.”

Ah, we are getting warmer. Why would the University decide to give our a “Free” MBA from the Milan Puskar Business School to the Senator’s daughter despite the fact she didn’t earn it?  Apparently is must have been a “private” matter.  The University kept insisting that they could not explain anything citing privacy laws.  Well, family matters must not be aired in public.  It kind of makes sense that her boss, Mylan’s Chairman Milan Puskar, who gave Heather the her initial job while he was still CEO upon the Senator’s urging is reportedly, a “longtime friend of the Manchin family”.  Mike Garrison served on the governor Bob Wise’ transition team with other members of WVU’s board of governors, when Heather Bresch’s classmate Mike Garrison was appointed as the University President. As former Gov. Bob Wise’s chief of staff, he was involved in selecting five members of WVU’s Board of Governors, including Chairman Stephen Goodwin, the Charleston attorney who headed the search committee for WVU’s new president.  It was convenient since Heather Bresch, graduated from Fairmont, W.Va., West High School in 1987 in the same class as West Virginia University President Mike Garrison and attended WVU with Mr. Garrison, earning an undergraduate degree in 1991.  She joined Mylan in 1992 as a data entry clerk, and was quickly promoted to served in several posts, including as a lobbyist, but her fortunes at the world’s third-largest generic drug maker rose dramatically after she was Mylan’s spokesperson during the 2004-05 proxy fight waged against the company by hedge fund operator Carl Icahn. At the time of the article she received a $500,000 salary as COO.  So Mike and Heather are pals and each has government connections. Additionally, Mylan donated $20 Million to the University, so the all around friendly attitude toward Heather’s mysterious and hence-forth unexplained matter of the MBA is understandable, right?  Poor Mike Garrison had to resign from his post following this unnecessary scandal. Full Article

Show me who you love and I tell you who you are! Let’s check out Heather Manchin’s second husband Jeff Bresch

Apparently she got married to first Douglas Kirby and soon divorced.  He is the CEO of a tech company that provides facial recognition software that can search videos. Bloomberg reports: “MXSERVER is used by law enforcement to monitor large-scale events, process live surveillance feeds identifying potential threats and conduct investigative analysis following a terrorist attack or criminal act. MXSERVER v2.7 is a significant upgrade to prior versions, improving back-end video/photo processing and face search speed and reliability. Numerous functional enhancements have been made which simplify and expedite video/photo analysis and biometric enrollment.”  Very cool and much needed technology.  That marriage didn’t last very long.

Heather Kirby married her true love with whom she has four children, Jeff Bresch.  Jeff is a litigation lawyer at Jones Day.  This law firm protects their clients against attacks. His corporate resume shows that he represented Education Management Corporation against “false claims.”  The company was sued for defrauding the public.  While Jones Day still claims the allegations were false the negotiated a successful settlement agreement with the Obama Administration and various US states. In an article by TribLive it was reported: “The company’s CEO, Mark McEachen, said prosecutors were flexible in negotiating the settlement and the agreement with attorneys general in 39 states and the District of Columbia. The state prosecutors agreed to end their investigations into EDMC in exchange for the company implementing more transparent recruiting practices and improving staff monitoring. ” They also agreed to a $95.5 Million fine without admitting any wrong doing.  Full Article  Jeff Bresch’s resume also shows that prior to working with Jones Day he gained experience. “As lead trial lawyer, successfully defended several exploration and production companies in connection with OSHA investigations and citations arising out of alleged work safety violations, including a fatality and environmental losses from drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale.”  Heather’s husband is clearly an effective attorney fighting successfully for his clients.  Full resume

Jeff Bresch’s value system is similar to the one Heather’s father Joe Manchin espouses.  Here is a report about Joe Manchin’s first speech in Congress:  “Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is making millions from a private coal company even as he fights public health efforts that would raise costs for the coal industry, Senate financial disclosure records reveal. Manchin’s first speech in Congress was an attack on the Environmental Protection Agency for trying to fight the crime of mountaintop removal mining. Manchin opposes EPA regulation of greenhouse pollution, produced disproportionately from burning coal. Last week, Manchin lashed out at Mayor Michael Bloomberg for the billionaire’s contribution to a campaign to shut down toxic coal-fired power plants.”  Full Article

Heather Bresch’s questionable Value System is Nothing New

As early as 2015 Fortune reported:  As CEO, Bresch has been eclipsed by Robert Coury, her predecessor and mentor, now Mylan’s executive chairman—a brash fountain of expletives who many observers believe still pulls Mylan’s strings. Institutional investors have long accused Coury and Bresch of putting their interests ahead of those of shareholders—a suspicion that Mylan’s rebuff of Teva only deepened. “They’re kind of in the penalty box,” says Marty Sass, a money manager of $7.5 billion who sold half his Mylan stake in July. “Everybody hates them.”

Bresch helped write and rally support behind the 2012 Generic Drug User Fee Act, a law that funded more FDA inspections of generic-drug factories overseas.

In 1989 the NYT reported: “When a drug comes off patent, enormous profits can be gained by the company that gets its generic version approved first. When Mylan Laboratories Inc. of Pittsburgh felt its applications were being deliberately held up in the F.D.A. approval process, it hired private detectives who discovered an F.D.A. official had accepted bribes from a competitor. So much money is at stake that falsification and bribery are constant dangers. The generic drug industry needs also to take the lead in policing its own members. The industry has been a potent force in keeping down the high price of drugs, and medical costs will rocket if the industry fails to overcome the doubts that may now be raised about its products.”

The FDA itself: “The generic drug industry has grown from modest beginnings into a major force in health care. According to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, generic drugs now account for 88% of prescriptions dispensed in the United States, and saved the U.S. health system $1.68 trillion from 2005 to 2014.”   Mylan is the world leader in this industry and young Bresch is the CEO of the leading company.  As the Puskar and later on Coury appointed government liaison she assisted in creating this industry.   So why do the changes in law Bresch has pushed through Congress have such a profound impact on the Pharma Industry’s pricing structure? Why instead of saving money are the prices sky-rocketing?

Forbes reported in 2005 that generic drugs are going up by sometimes thousands of percent due to Drug Shortages related to Manufacturing Issues

“But post-industry consolidation, fewer generic manufacturers are applying to the FDA for permission to produce those drugs. With substantially fewer manufacturers producing a particular generic drug (in some cases only 2 or 3 makers), generic prices have crept up with time. However, there are more influential factors than this. When one or more of the manufacturers making a particular drug run short of inventory, demand overtakes supply and results in a price rise. Quality and manufacturing issues are a major reason for drug shortages, according to the FDA. The FDA monitors every facility that is used for production and should any issue arise, the manufacturing company will be issued a notice accordingly.”

Bresch started her carrier in the manufacturing control department. Mylan has an outstanding record.  The law she helped write and get approved, is cutting out manufacturers, creating a free reign in price-gouging for Mylan.  That children and human beings are adversely affected doesn’t seem to bother her one bit.  To her and her husband it is all about money and power.  Only about that.  In her way of looking at the world she is brilliantly successful, while kids die needless from bee stings.

Now would be a good time to genuinely study the proposal of how to get the pricing back down to a reasonable level.  The public and the legislators need to want it and vote for it.  Full Proposal.

 

 

Posted on

Join us on Thursday, August 18th from 6-10pm for Jim Dennis’ Birthday Celebration and Extended exhibit “50 Years In A Flash”.

Jim Dennis' Birthday Celebration - Joyce Gordon Gallery
Jim Dennis’ Birthday Celebration – Joyce Gordon Gallery
50 Years In A Flash | Photography by Jim Dennis
August 5 – August 27, 2016 
Jim Dennis’ Birthday Celebration 
Thursday, August 18th 6 – 10pm 
Joyce Gordon Gallery Tour 6-7pm  
 
Celebration at Geoffrey’s InnerCircle (410 14th St, Oakland) 
7-10pm feat an extended music collection 
($5 Door Entry include live music and extended exhibit). 


Get an amazing discount on your photo session by world renown photographer Jim Dennis
Get an amazing discount on your photo session by world renown photographer Jim Dennis

Sign up to have your portrait taken by renown Bay Area photographer, Jim Dennis here at Joyce Gordon Gallery along with celebrity makeup artist Meko White | .www.mekowhite.com

 Portrait Session $150 per person | Each Sessions are approximately 20mins to 30mins
 

Joyce Gordon Gallery presents “50 Years In A Flash,” a retrospective of photography including portraits, nudes, music, flowers and landscapes by renowned Bay Area photographer Jim Dennis. 

Posted on

TTIP want to put GMO based food ahead of local populations’ preference for health

TTIP is negotiated by officials who were not voted for and who wish to oppress local populations for big business. It provides permission for big multi national companies to sue local populations if they are against these poisons. Big business at its most offensive level since the Oligarch era of days past.

These offensive practices are already happening on a wide scale with big business oppressing third world countries. Now these offensive companies want to oppress all European countries.

Tobacco companies were limited from advertising in the US lowering he rate of smokers to 18% of the US populations, down from a high of 48%.
So they moved their business to third world countries. They started to sue small countries insisting by removing warning labels. This is what the TTIP and the TTP is all about. Giving corporations free reign pretending that they are fighting China has nothing to do with free trade. World populations need to step up and get informed.

Posted on

Misinformation … CNN has long been accused as a “cross-dressing” Media company

Jane Fonda with Ted Turner
Jane Fonda with Ted Turner

CNN wrote in an article covering that the Trump/Putin joint effort to influence the US election was normal. We agree with the fact that every country always wants to influence as many other countries as possible.  Of course to keep a country safe and for its economic advantage politicians in the foreign office promote the countries values.  However CNN provides examples that are factually incorrect or at minimum slanted and actually seem to spread misinformation.  Full Article

For example the article claims that UK intelligence “spread rumors” about Charles Lindbergh. However, in fact the rumors were factually correct as the actual Autobiography of Charles Lindbergh shows.

Hermann Göring presents Nazi Medal to Charles Lindbergh on behalf of Hitler
Hermann Göring presents Nazi Medal to Charles Lindbergh on behalf of Hitler

The US government was not correctly informed about the rise of Hitler by Charles Lindbergh.  The UK government did not spread rumors it corrected the point of view that was based on false information, by Hitler fans, Charles Lindbergh and his Nazi admiring wife.  Here is a quote from a PBS article :

Charles Lindbergh was convinced that no other power in Europe could stand up to Germany in the event of war. "The organized vitality of Germany was what most impressed me: the unceasing activity of the people, and the convinced dictatorial direction to create the new factories, airfields, and research laboratories...," Lindbergh recalled in "Autobiography of Values." His wife drew similar conclusions. "...I have never in my life been so conscious of such a directed force. It is thrilling when seen manifested in the energy, pride, and morale of the people--especially the young people," she wrote in "The Flower and the Nettle." By 1938, the Lindberghs were making plans to move to Berlin.

The public’s cry for authenticity shows that there is a world wide trend of people being tired of being misled. While it is natural that every person wants to present their best possible public image, as they should, ideally people’s expressions and assertions are backed up by facts.

Particularly in the “new GOP” the Trump led GOP in contrast of the previous economically conservative GOP, the concept of facts being replaced by feelings that have nothing to do with facts is widely used and accepted.

Media, particularly the most prominent media companies, should return to fact based reporting. CNN has more people watching than any other media company. CNN recently hired Corey Lewandowski despite his rather questionable behavior toward women to tap deeper into the Fox TV audience. People who like history know that CNN was started by the successful advertising executive, Ted Turner in 1980. His business philosophy was so flexible it was aptly described by Eric Guthey (2001). Ted Turner’s Corporate Cross-Dressing and the Shifting Images of American Business Leadership. Enterprise and Society, 2, pp 111-142. doi:10.1093/es/2.1.111.  Until media companies like CNN who hold the largest audiences and therefore influence the majority of the people returns to seeking truths and spreading fact. We each need to take responsibility of getting out of the emotionally based echo chambers that erode out grasp on reality.

Today when even the top media companies are using feelings and opinions inter changeable with facts every intelligent person is required to fact check before choosing to be influenced.  Let’s to keep civilization alive.

 

Posted on

Michelle Obama is beautiful inside out and outside in. True Beauty!

Vogue shows Michele Obama's outer beauty - her speech shows her inner beauty as a mother and leader.
Vogue shows Michelle Obama’s outer beauty – her speech shows her inner beauty as a mother and leader.

Her speech reflects the beauty of her mind and soul.  What a classy and beautiful woman.

When someone sais what they do and does what she says we can trust and admire that person with all our might.

The first Lady genuinely cares about the US, the world and people. She now is working with an organization called called Let Girls Lean.

Let Girls Learn is a U.S. government initiative launched by the President and First Lady that helps adolescent girls attain a quality education and enables them to reach their full potential. Educating girls is essential to healthy and thriving communities but, globally, 62 million girls are not in school, and barriers to adolescent girls completing school are particularly significant. In some countries, fewer than 10% of teenage girls complete secondary school. Learn more about it and how we can genuinely improve the lives for people, empower people to get jobs, improve countries infra structure and stop the hunger and power based wars and resulting refugee flows.

https://letgirlslearn.peacecorps.gov/

Posted on

Happy Fourth of July 2016 and the fight for democracy continues

Chris Van Etten appears in the new Jockey campaign What's Underneath (PRNewsFoto/Jockey)
Chris Van Etten appears in the new Jockey campaign What’s Underneath
(PRNewsFoto/Jockey)
Chris Van Etten symbolizes the American Can-Do Spirit or did he do it in vain because we are too lazy to protect Democracy?

Marine Chris Van Etten, who lost both legs in Afghanistan in July 2012, returned to his family’s Illinois home for the holidays, after spending half a year at a Californian rehabilitation center. He was met with racist graffiti on his family home which was particularly strange as he is Caucasian. Someone spray-painted racial slurs on and threw raw eggs at the Van Etten’s house, likely as the family slept. Van Etten was critically injured from a roadside bomb explosion, which killed his best friend. Lance Cpl. T.J. Baune from Minnesota while on night patrol June 13.  Full Article

Chris Van Etten, a Marine fought for America, presumably to spread Democracy to Afghanistan.  He fought to stop Al-Qaeda from spreading their terror attacks to the West. He fought to uphold our freedom that began on July 4th of 1776 when Americans declared their independence from the British Tax System which they perceived as a yoke.

A few weeks ago the British Population declared that they wish to be freed from the yoke of the EU.  In a recent podcast, Mr. Krugman, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 2008, says that “Brexit” was “a terrible blow to the elite leadership in Europe,” explains how the people who are most likely to emerge on top as a result of the move are “the Donald Trumps of England” and talks about the way in which the E.U. is fundamentally at odds with democracy and the idea of a democratically elected government.  Full article and podcast

The world is once again at a cross road.

Shall a few rule over the many and subjugate them or shall the many fight for freedom of information which demands the protection of freedom of speech? In the EU a few bureaucrats rule over the many without regards for their opinion, wishes, preferences. The European Parliament gave them the power to do so, without any recourse but extreme measures for the pubic. Is the Brexit a good idea? Many agree that it is not and that it is based on misinformation presented by the originally Australian Rupert Murdoch’s news empire. He also is working on his fascists aims in breaking Democracy in the US using Fox TV and since a few years the Wall Street Journal.

A book by Larry Bartels promoted by Princeton University explains what is going on in a succinct way:

“Unequal Democracy debunks many myths about politics in contemporary America, using the widening gap between the rich and the poor to shed disturbing light on the workings of American democracy. Larry Bartels shows the gap between the rich and poor has increased greatly under Republican administrations and decreased slightly under Democrats, leaving America grossly unequal.” The review goes on to say: “Bartels demonstrates that elected officials respond to the views of affluent constituents but ignore the views of poor people. He shows that Republican presidents in particular have consistently produced much less income growth for middle-class and working-poor families than for affluent families, greatly increasing inequality.”

All of us have to choose whether the Independence our forefathers fought for should regress because we are too passive and allow the fascists and hyper-wealthy, uncaring people to repurchase yokes that make our lives miserable. The Brexit shows what dis-information can do to a civilized country. Will it happen here in the US?

Posted on

Historic Push for Brexit

What is wrong with Europe? Why are they leaving?
What is wrong with Europe? Why are they leaving?
The right to self determination has been attacked by European Bureaucrats and regular people are fighting back.

After the first and second world war the concept of political self determination has been touted all over Europe.

A wonderful site from Princeton University explains:

“At its most basic, the principle of self-determination can be defined as a community’s right to choose its political destiny. This can include choices regarding the exercise of sovereignty and independent external relations (external self-determination) or it can refer to the selection of forms of government (internal self-determination). The fundamental concept of self-determination-the right to choose-has its roots in the American and French revolutions in the eighteenth century with their emphasis on justice, liberty, and freedom from authoritarian rule. It found its most prominent expressions following World Wars I and II. In the aftermath of the First World War, self-determination was perceived to be Woodrow Wilson’s guiding principle for redrawing European and world maps to establish a new, just order. Following World War II, self-determination was enshrined in the United Nations Charter, initiating its transformation into a legal right under international law. In practice, this notion provided the justification and impetus for de-colonization and is often conflated with independence. More recently, the term is associated with struggles by groups within a state for greater autonomy or independence-primarily ethno-nationalist claims or counter-reactions to oppression or authoritarianism.”  The report ends with this astute suggestion: “The key to resolving self-determination claims is to understand and address multiple layers of conflict in ways that promote the ideals of self-determination (the right to choose) as well as the related norms of human rights and territorial integrity. This necessitates accounting for the emotional appeal of national and local identity while avoiding oppressive political actions that foment violence and instability.” Full text go to: Princeton Edu

While freedom, whether political or economic, is closely tied with the concepts of self determination the EU and government officials around the world has been largely tone-deaf to the concerns of individual native groups of people during the past 20 years, as big business has pushed for ever more globalization.  Uniform Rules and Regulations are definitely practical when expanding a business around the world.  It is not convenient to have a companies march toward global success impeded upon by regional preferences, likes, and dislikes.

Older people are much more in tune with “the way things were.” And, when the world around them changes at ever increasing speed and they feel that their expectations are no longer fulfilled and they feel “left behind” they don’t like it.  Older people are more inclined to vote than younger people.

During an interview with the BBC in November 2014, Merkel was clear about the fact that she didn’t really care about the internal rumblings in Britain.  She explained her disregard for the internal issues inside England that she ignored the internal concerns of native Germans as well.  She wanted to uphold her “European Ideals” at all cost.  The English people were concerned about having their island flooded with refugees and the associated costs of social benefits paid out.  Germans were concerned about that as well.   The BBC wrote:

“At the European summit on 25 October Angela Merkel was asked about a possible UK move to change the treaties to reduce the number of migrants. “We have the basic principle of free movement,” said the German chancellor, “and we won’t meddle with that.” It was her way of saying free movement was not up for negotiation.”   Full BBC Article

She pointed out that she had given the decision as to how to deal with the social benefits issues to an appointed group of the European courts.  The refugees would swamp villages all over Germany based on her rulings, bureaucrats in Brussels would decide that the locals had to take in the refugees and that they needed to pay for their housing, food, education and safety at a local level.   As it turns out this insensitivity toward locals has extreme consequences for Europe.

“And from that point on it will be more important for the German government to save these European fundamentals in comparison with keeping the United Kingdom inside.” An article in Der Spiegel stated on November 2, 2014.  David Cameron was under extreme pressure within Britain, but when he asked for assistance on working on a compromise, Merkel thought it was better for Europe that Britain exits rather than for Europeans to change their regulations to deal with the refugee crisis. Back then Merkel decided that keeping the Schengen Agreement alive was worth the price to push Britain out of the EU.  Full Article

A local newspaper reported: “The report, presented on Thursday by the Association of German Cities, found that a total number of 500,000 new arrivals would cost €7 billion overall, while 1.2 million refugees would cost €16 billion. That adds up to a maximum of €5.5 billion more than has already been promised to local governments by Chancellor Angela Merkel from federal funds, the association’s finance chief told reporters in Berlin. Merkel had promised €670 per month per refugee to Germany’s 16 states.” Full Article

Merkel’s eagerness to live up to Time Magazine’s image of her as the most powerful woman in the world seemed more important than keeping the European populations’ belief in the EU alive. Time naively encouraged her to ignore Europeans’ wishes.  While Obama had trouble bringing 25,000 or 40,000 refugees into the US.  Germany was swamped by 1,500,000 million.  Full Article

The key to solving the problems of the Brexit, Grexit, and Europe and the never-ending refugee crisis is to find a healthy balance between protecting the freedoms of multi national mega companies with those of “Self Determination on a local level.”

Whenever the middle class was eroded due to financial hardships as it has been over the past 30 years in most Western Countries, super powers fell apart.  The masses need to benefit in order for them to support a governmental structure.  Rude suppression of their needs and especially ignoring their concerns, lack of communication with the masses through out history has resulted in chaos. Government officials are ever more reliant on corporate donations instead of the middle class and it shows.   (Pew Study on Middle Income Trends.)

Is it true that economically free movement is beneficial, of course, especially if it pertains to a young and highly trained workforce.  However this point has not been explained well to the local populations, financially and culturally burdened with the influx of refugees.

The Brexit would not have happened if people knew that there is a clear benefit to them.  And the bureaucrats would have done better if instead of ignoring the natives with sweeping statements that had no relation to the individual lives of regular people would have studied the issues more carefully, and made adjustment that would have allowed regular people to benefit more obviously from the global economy they aim to support.

Putting an appointed governmental body above self determination of local neighborhoods, without providing any recourse and participation in the conversations is perceived as dictatorship.  No matter how beneficial the bureaucrats think is is, and most importantly no matter how beneficial it actually is.  Communication that goes both ways is a must for a stable government.  Whenever “outsiders” gain too much power things fall apart.  Big business unless it creates local jobs is considered an “outsider.” Education about how the economies work and related in simple language is the only way empires stay intact.

As we all know, of you don’t study history you are destined to repeat it.

In 476 C.E. Romulus Augustus, the last of the Roman emperors in the west, was overthrown by the Germanic leader Odoacer, who became the first Barbarian to rule in Rome. The order that the Roman Empire had brought to western Europe for 1000 years was no more. Really really fun full article here. When local people have to pay too much out to support foreigners and outsiders they tend to rebel.

Merkel now has put the faith of refugees into the hands of a Turk who wants to bring back the Ottoman Empire.  Earlier this year death rates of refugees drowning in the Mediterranean again have surpassed 2,500 since people no longer want to risk being captured by the un-democratic Turk, Erdogan.  This has not worked out very well and the Schengen Agreement that was so important to her when dealing with David Cameron’s attempt to actually listen to the British people has fallen by the way side anyway. Two years into the refugee crisis European Borders are being checked again anyway.   The Guardian

German people are increasingly disgusted with the way the government ignores their “internal” needs and they are leaving the ruling parties in droves.  In May 2016 Bloomberg reported: “Last week, the assembly held a debate in which Erdogan was labeled a “dictator” and Turkish threats to back out of the refugee accord should the EU refuse Turks visa-free travel were called blackmail.”  Maybe Merkel and her EU bureaucrats would have done better if they had started to work through life changing issues with their people.

Unless the bureaucrats in Brussels wake up and start listening to their people and are working on dealing with the local people’s concerns, instead of working on the concerns of multi-national corporations without regard for the local countries Europe will go the way of the Roman Empire.  The British people have spoken.  Merkel’s lack of support of David Cameron and his need to deal with the internal issues of “Self Determination” had dire consequences. Big business would do well to start urging politicians to do their job. After all isn’t that what they pay them for?