Thursday, September 1, 2016


News and Views


HERE ARE TWO EXCELLENT ARTICLES FOR PROGRESSIVES THAT AREN’T NEW. SKIP THEM IF YOU MUST HAVE TODAY’S NEWS ONLY.


Here is a timeless interview which I just stumbled across in my Bookmarks while looking for something else. Listen. It will open your heart and mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJjQWaWIxCs

Bernie Sanders x Killer Mike Interview #FeelTheBern || Moorish World News



Another from my Bookmarks collection:

https://news.vice.com/article/new-york-cops-homeless-campaign-shows-they-can-use-social-media-too?preview&cb=v1439392573634

New York Cops Are Now Shaming Homeless People On Social Media
By Colleen Curry
August 12, 2015 | 3:10 pm

A social media campaign by a New York City police union to post photos of homeless people to Flickr has been criticized as a way to "victim blame" or "homeless shame" people down on their luck, but law enforcement experts say it also shows the police unions trying to adapt to the power of social media that has been focused on them for the past year.

The Sergeants Benevolent Association launched the campaign by emailing members and urging them to take photos of the homeless in New York, according to the New York Post. They've so far posted nearly 240 photos to a Flickr account online, showing people sleeping in doorways and in subways, urinating on streets, and begging for food and money.

"As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph the homeless lying in our streets, aggressive panhandlers, people urinating in public or engaging in open-air drug activity, and quality-of-life offenses of every type," SBA President Ed Mullins wrote in the letter to SBA members, according to the Post. "We will refer issues to the proper agencies, and we will help create accountability across the board."

The campaign is a pointed critique of Mayor Bill DeBlasio and his policies on both policing and homelessness, with Mullins writing about the "failed policies, more homeless encampments on city streets, a 10 percent increase in homicides, and the diminishing of our hard-earned and well-deserved public perception of the safest large city in America."

The SBA did not return multiple requests for comment from VICE News. Tension between the police unions and DeBlasio has been simmering since last year's public row that saw officers in uniform turn their backs on DeBlasio at the funeral for two officers who were shot and killed in the line of duty.

Outrage over the campaign simmered online, where the Southern Poverty Law Center called it "unacceptable," and many Twitter users condemned the action as victim-blaming.


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The Baxter Bean @TheBaxterBean
NY Cops Post Pictures of Homeless Online To Mock/Criminalize Their Plight. Some Are Veterans. http://nypost.com/2015/08/10/cops-are-taking-pictures-of-bums-and-posting-them-online/ …
10:19 AM - 12 Aug 2015
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RiPPa @RippDemUp
NYPD Embraces ‘Jim Crow’ Tactics To Crack Down On Homeless http://bit.ly/1TtbUeM #p2
8:22 AM - 12 Aug 2015
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Edna Hill @itsjustaphaze
NY police union wants cops to photo shame homeless. Say what!?! More 'blame the victim' politics #WakeUpAmerica https://youtu.be/eU0JTZ_Hy8k
3:50 PM - 11 Aug 2015
6 6 Retweets 4 4 likes

The campaign represents to some law enforcement experts an attempt by police officers to harness the power of social media after a year in which they have often been the focus of controversy. Maria Haberfeld, chair of John Jay College's department of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration, told VICE News that the police now realize they can use social media to get widespread attention for a problem they see as an important or urgent issue.

"If decision-making people, policy people, are aware of a problem, and aren't doing enough and don't seem to be generating an immediate solution, which in this case people probably would like to see, and the sooner the better, then the police union takes the responsibility on itself of taking the next step," Haberfeld said.

She said that people will have to "get use to" more public debate about issues that were previously handled privately.

"Suddenly there is this awakening to police use of force, not because it's a new phenomenon but because we are much more exposed through social media, so it works both ways, it works for their accountability of public performance but it also should work on other end, when police unions are able to alert decision makers to acute problems," she said.

Related: New Yorkers Hit the Streets Looking to Bring HOPE to the City's Homeless

John DeCarlo, author of the book, Labor Unions, Management Innovation and Organizational Change in Police Departments, said that the SBA's campaign is part of a long history of dialogue between the city administration and police officers, who often have "two very different perspectives" on public policy.

"I think what you're seeing is a natural progression of communications," DeCarlo told VICE News. "Unions would've been talking to politicians and going to newspapers before, and now it's a grassroots campaign of getting the word out on social media for what they think is important and what they think the public should be seeing."

DeCarlo says that cops are trying to document the changes they are noticing on the streets as they go about their jobs. He says higher ranking police and city officials have a big picture view of the city.

"Being Mayor or Commissioner, you're looking at a lot of different perspectives, not just the crime rate or homelessness, but educating children and satisfying constituents and all sorts of things," DeCarlo said. "Whereas the union is looking specifically at one issue, crime and disorder, and so often their perspective is very focused on that one issue."

But both policing experts and homeless advocates told VICE News today that the use of a social media campaign to influence a public policy debate is probably a good thing, and the advent of social media simply moved an existing debate between cops and administrators into the public realm.

"Social media allows people, whether in the police profession or another profession, to sort of be much more vocal about issues of concern," Haberfeld said. "Maybe 5 or 10 years ago maybe the police were aware of problems in city and didn't necessarily see a proper platform [to discuss it], but now social media allows them to say what the issues are, so it's just a new vehicle."

Related: How Private Companies Are Profiting From Homelessness in New York City

Jeff Foreman, policy director at Care for the Homeless, agreed with the policing experts, noting that the while the campaign could run the risk or stigmatizing the homeless, it could also lead to a debate about better solutions for the city's homeless problem.

"If it raises the focus and consciousness on homelessness in New York and people are looking for and committing to solutions to the problem, then it can be a good thing," Foreman said. "Obviously anything that stigmatizes homelessness or leads to enforcement that criminalizes homelessness is not a good thing, that actually makes it worse."

He said that the consequences of the union's homeless campaign will be determined by how it is perceived by the public and administrators, and he hopes to see it perceived as a "cry for help" that spurs the city into greater action in helping house the homeless.

Foreman's group would like to see an increase in supportive housing equipped with "wraparound" services, including mental health services, that help people get off the street. He said those services are more fiscally responsible for the city than the cost of arresting the homeless and housing them at the city's "most expensive homeless housing at Riker's Island," the city's jail.

The social media campaign and experts seem to also agree on the fact that there are more homeless on the street than in previous years, despite the fact that during the annual homelessness count in February of this year, there was a five percent decrease in the number of people counted, Foreman said.

"I think most New Yorkers think there are more homeless on the street right now," he said.

Haberfeld cautioned that despite the open critique of the administration by the police unions, both entities are working toward the same goal and are merely engaging in public debate about the best way to keep the city safe.

"Unfortunately," she said, "there is this perception that the unions are on one side and the administration is on the other but the truth is it's in everybody's interest to do something about this," she said. "At the end of the day, the administration, the bosses and the police organizations have the same interests as everybody else, they want a safe and secure city."

Watch the VICE News documentary Institutionalized: Mental Health Behind Bars:

TOPICS: americas, politics, homelessness, nypd, bill deblasio, sba, ed mullins, homeless, policy, crime and drugs



TODAY’S NEWS:


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-parents-stunned-dead-baby-body-cremated/

California parents stunned to find out dead baby's body was cremated
CBS NEWS
September 1, 2016, 12:23 PM

Photograph -- Auroaanne De La Torre-Johnston is seen in a photo that her parents, Michael Johnston and Yvette De La Torre, provided to CBS Los Angeles. COURTESY MICHAEL JOHNSTON AND YVETTE DE LA TORRE


MONTEREY PARK, Calif. -- How does a healthy newborn baby end up dead in the hospital a day after she is born?

That is a question a grieving Southern California couple wants answered, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Moreover, compounding their ordeal, was news that the baby was cremated without their permission.

Auroaanne De La Torre-Johnston was born on May 27 inside Beverly Hospital in Montebello, California.

“She was in perfect health,” said her father, Michael Johnston. “Very alert, very awake - she was the loudest baby in the ward, apparently.”

On May 28, the baby was dead.

Johnston said he and the baby’s mother, Yvette De La Torre, are waiting for the coroner’s office to tell them the official cause of death.

“We have no clue,” said Johnston. “It’s devastating.”

The sad story doesn’t end there. Johnston said when he and his wife called the coroner last week to check on the progress of their findings, he couldn’t believe what he was told.

“They sent her to USC to be cremated, and her ashes are now in the USC morgue,” Johnston said.

He and his wife said they were stunned into disbelief.

“I was like, ‘Where is my daughter? What did you do with my daughter?’” he said.

Johnston said the coroner’s office told the couple that it left a message on their answering machine saying if they didn’t pick up their baby within 30 days, the body would be disposed of. The couple said they never got that message.

A spokesman for the coroner’s office declined to comment, saying it can’t comment over concerns the coroner’s office could potentially face a lawsuit in this case.

“The fact that the coroner won’t be transparent and accountable really raises some questions here that I think only the Board of Supervisors or possibly the DA’s office can answer,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica.

“I mean, this is the worst pain a human being can feel, losing a child. To not have an answer just is throwing salt in that wound, and then to dispose of the body before a family can make a choice about what to do with it and get more answers, it’s inhuman,” said Court.

Now all the parents have is one photo of their little girl.

It’s something Johnston said he looks at a lot.

“I can tell she had my hands,” he said, “I make sure I look at [the picture] every day.”

And he is left with the agonizing question: Why did she die?



Go to the website and look at this baby girl. She is absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, I think something bizarre happened here. This appears to me to be a series of unthinkable things. First, the baby was either accidentally or purposely killed in the hospital. She was, after all, very healthy and strong, according to the father. Then, it was sent to the morgue, where the murder/accident was discovered by the clever medical examiner. The hospital personnel who were responsible for the death then put pressure on the coroner to “disappear” the body before it could be subjected to an independent autopsy at the behest of the understandably furious parents. The morgue then sent the child for cremation without notifying the parents, and to cover that up, told them that a telephone message had been left for them on their voicemail. That was a lie. Part of my reason for saying that is that the father didn’t have a voicemail message on his machine. Of course, the morgue could have mistakenly called the wrong telephone number (the idiots). I don’t believe that either, though, because no morgue would dispose of a body without written notification to the family, I feel sure. That certainly should be illegal, even if it isn’t. I do hope the parents will “sue the pants off of the whole bunch of them” – hospital, morgue, crematorium, and whatever doctor signed off on removing the child from the hospital in the first place in such an unseemly rush. Worst of all, nobody seems to be willing to say what killed the child. The whole situation smells. I wait with great anticipation to discover what actually happened. I hope consumerwatchdog will bring it all to light. I expect this story will be on the TV news tonight and maybe for weeks to come.



http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/

Who We Are

Consumer Watchdog is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing an effective voice for taxpayers and consumers in an era when special interests dominate public discourse, government and politics. We deploy an in-house team of public interest lawyers, policy experts, strategists, and grassroots activists to expose, confront, and change corporate and political injustice every day, saving Americans billions of dollars and improving countless lives.

For decades Consumer Watchdog has been the nation’s most aggressive consumer advocate, taking on politicians of both parties and the special interests that fund them.



https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/fsu-player-eats-lunch-autistic-student-sitting-alone-215903363--ncaaf.html

FSU player eats lunch with autistic student sitting alone
JOE REEDY (Associated Press)
Wed, Aug 31, 2016


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Thanks to a college football player's small gesture of kindness, it could be a long time before a mother will have to worry again about her autistic son eating lunch alone.

Tears streamed down the face of Leah Paske when she saw the photo of Florida State University wide receiver Travis Rudolph sharing a cafeteria table with her sixth-grader. Then she shared her gratitude on Facebook, and the story took off.

By Wednesday, Bo Paske had no shortage of lunch companions.

''Everyone was super welcoming him. He was at a table full of girls, which I thought was funny,'' Leah Paske said. ''The feedback has been good.''

Rudolph was among several FSU players visiting Montford Middle School in Tallahassee on Tuesday when he saw Bo sitting alone in the cafeteria. He grabbed a slice of pizza and asked if he could join him.

The child said, ''Sure, why not,'' Rudolph recalled after practice that day.

''We just had a great conversation. He started off, telling me his name was Bo, telling me how much he loves Florida State. We went from there,'' said the West Palm Beach, Florida, native, now beginning his junior season.

''It was real easy ... you'd never think anything was wrong with him. He had a nice smile on his face. Just a really warm person.''

Bo's mother had shared her anxieties in the Facebook post. Middle school can be tough. Would other kids be welcoming, or mean?

''Sometimes I'm grateful for his autism. That may sound like a terrible thing to say, but in some ways I think, I hope, it shields him,'' she wrote.

''He doesn't seem to notice when people stare at him when he flaps his hands. He doesn't seem to notice that he doesn't get invited to birthday parties anymore. And he doesn't seem to mind if he eats lunch alone. It's one of my daily questions for him. Was there a time today you felt sad? Who did you eat lunch with today? Sometimes the answer is a classmate, but most days it's nobody.''

The photo was taken by Mike Halligan, the middle school's resource officer and a friend of the family. Halligan said he texted it to Paske to ease her concerns about how her son was acclimating to a new school.

''I knew it was important for Leah to be comfortable and know that her son is doing OK and is not afraid,'' Halligan said.

Paske said their encounter has given autism awareness a huge boost.

''The picture speaks way more than a thousand words. You can see how far away the rest of the students are, but you can see how engaged Travis is with Bo. He's looking at him while he's eating,'' she said. ''It's so telling. I can't get over how such a small moment can have a huge impact.

FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said he's proud of his player.

''You can make someone's day by being yourself and understanding the impact you have as an athlete,'' he said.

Rudolph said his phone hasn't stopped ringing.

''I just wanted to go say hi to the kid, because I saw him eating alone. I didn't even know anybody took a photo of it,'' Rudolph explained in an email. ''I'm glad it can bring awareness to helping others.''

Bo, too, is excited - about Rudolph signing his lunch box, as well as all the attention.

''It's been awesome. Everyone was so proud of me,'' he said.

Paske said they have been invited to dinner with the team and possibly a game. Florida State football spokesman Zach Stipe said logistics are being worked out.

Florida State is ranked fourth in The Associated Press Preseason Top 25, and opens the season on Monday against 11th-ranked Mississippi in Orlando.



For an interesting experience go to the mindchecker website and take the autism spectrum disorder test given there. It also describes how autism “presents” as doctors like to say, frequency in the US population, etc. Autistic people vary widely from each other, and are not necessarily “slow learners” if at all. In some ways they show very high intelligence, and it shows up more in people with a technical and scientific turn of mind. I have known two people with the “hand-flapping” behavior. Both were female and intelligent, though what I would call “hyperactive.” “Hand twisting or tapping” is very common, however.

From what I have personally seen, the “oddness” of autistic people is exaggerated in the press and common parlance, and is definitely not something which is “mentally inferior” unless your definition of “intelligence” has more to do with COMFORT IN SOCIAL SITUATIONS than with ones’ intellectual capacity. I have seen a video of an autistic teenager who did do things like scream, and that is hard for “normal” people to adjust to. Autistic people are by no means always that extreme.

I like to talk to people who are curious about life and enjoy reading and information, even if they do “flap their hands” or twist/tap/fidget in general. I don’t like to talk about shopping, Bling, social status symbols, etc. I think that’s why I scored somewhat above the average on the test. I’m introverted and a lover of information, and many scientific things. I do not, however, love numbers and mathematics, or do well in them either.

There is too great a tendency in this socially conscious society to consider people “odd” at the drop of a hat. Anyway, I’m so glad that this young football player decided to do the kind thing and sit with an isolated child and talk to him. We all should do things like that. And as for all this hysteria about vaccinations, I think that is NOT HELPFUL, and if ones’ child dies from some disease because of it, I think perhaps that parent should be charged with child neglect at the very least. I have no sympathy with “religious” reasons for that. Religions should not do harm, just as physicians make their pledge not to.


http://mindchecker.channel4.com/test-autism.html

Above average score, but below the threshold

You scored slightly higher than average on this test, but are still below the threshold of 32 points that would likely indicate an autistic spectrum disorder. Just because you have scored higher than average, it does not mean that you are likely to be autistic - many people who score highly have no problems functioning in their day-to-day lives. This can be because of a good match with their chosen career (anecdotally, mathematicians and computer scientists score higher in this AQ test) or because they have a supportive family/social network that prevents any secondary problems occurring. If you feel that you are not able to function normally in day-to-day life, it may be worth talking to your GP about these test results.

Autism can be mild, in which case the impact on daily life is minimal - or it can be so severe that sufferers struggle to function in their day-to-day lives, where the world seems a strange and scary place. There is currently no cure for ASD, but there are a range of treatments that can improve/manage the symptoms.

Autistic Spectrum Disorders have a wide range of symptoms, grouped into three broad categories:

Problems and difficulties with social interaction, such as a lack of understanding and awareness of other people's emotions/feelings.

Difficulty with language and communication skills, such an inability to start conversations or take part in them properly (often resulting in interrupting others inappropriately).

Unusual patterns of thought and physical behaviour – such as making repetitive physical movements (e.g. hand tapping or twisting).


1,022,700 people have taken the test, and so far…

20%
scored in the highest risk category
14%
scored in the highest risk category

Highest scoring occupation
Scientific & Technical

Lowest scoring occupation
Sales



https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-finds-zika-trapped-mosquitoes-1st-us-mainland-163939540.html

Florida finds Zika in local mosquitoes, bromeliads blamed
Associated Press
September 1, 2016
50 minutes ago


MIAMI (AP) — Florida has found the Zika virus in three groups of mosquitoes trapped in Miami Beach — the first time this has happened in the continental U.S. — and authorities are blaming a particular flower for making mosquito control much more difficult.

One of the traps that tested positive was at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, where bromeliads bloom. The plants trap standing water in their cylindrical centers, providing excellent breeding areas for mosquitoes amid their colorful flowers and pointy leaves.

"Everyone should know by now that bromeliads are really problematic for us. These are probably the number one breeding area for mosquitoes," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

He said Miami Beach is removing all bromeliads from its landscaping, and urged residents across the county to either pull them out or rinse them after every rain.

And with Hurricane Hermine bringing much more rain to Florida, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday ordered the county to immediately conduct aerial spraying by helicopter as recommended by the CDC.

The Zika-carrying mosquitoes were trapped in a touristy 1.5-square-mile area of South Beach identified as a zone of active transmission of the virus, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said in a news release.

"This is the first time we have found a Zika virus positive mosquito pool in the continental United States," confirmed Erin Sykes, a CDC spokeswoman.

Finding the virus in mosquitoes has been likened by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to finding a needle in a haystack, but the testing helps mosquito controllers target their efforts, and it confirms that the insects themselves, in addition to infected humans, have begun transmitting the virus inside the mainland United States.

The illness spreads from people to mosquitoes to people again through bites, but the insects do not spread the disease among their own population, and their lifespan is just a few weeks.

A poll released Thursday suggests nearly 48 percent of Americans are wary of traveling to U.S. destinations where people have been infected with Zika through mosquito bites.

The Kaiser Family Foundation survey also found 61 percent felt uneasy about traveling to Zika zones outside the U.S. mainland, including Puerto Rico.

Most of the Zika infections from Florida mosquitoes have been in the Miami area, not the tourist mecca of Orlando and its Walt Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld theme parks.

But Miami is a major tourism draw, with more than 15.5 million people making overnight visits to the city and its nearby beaches last year. Florida in general has a lot to lose as Zika spreads: The state set a new record for tourism with more than 105 million people from out of state and other countries visiting in 2015.

Officials said they are not considering asking restaurants and bars in the area to temporarily close outdoor dining areas, but they will increase spraying, trapping and testing.

"This is a very, very difficult mosquito to control," said Gimenez. "The CDC director once told me this is the cockroach of mosquitoes, that it will find a way somehow to breed."

Since July, authorities have linked a couple dozen Zika cases to transmission in small areas of Miami's Wynwood district and the popular South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach. Other isolated cases not linked to travel outside the U.S. also have been confirmed elsewhere in Miami-Dade county, as well as in neighboring counties and in the Tampa Bay area, totaling 47 for the state.

A third of people surveyed in the poll believe Congress should make approving more funds to combat Zika a top priority. President Barack Obama proposed $1.9 billion in emergency funding for Zika in February, but Congress has been unable to agree on a final bill.

The poll of 1,211 adults conducted Aug. 18-24 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Scott, a Republican, has repeatedly called on Congress to send the president a Zika funding bill, saying "we still need the federal government to show up."

In Washington, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell expressed frustration that Congress hasn't acted. She's been forced to take from other health priorities to fund the fight against Zika, and said that stopgap funding will run out at the month's end.

"The money that's running out is the tide-over money we have taken from other (priorities)," Burwell told reporters. "What we need is a bipartisan agreement."

That is how previous Congresses handled earlier public health emergencies such as bird flu and Ebola. Burwell said any Zika bill has to make special provision for Puerto Rico, which has been most severely affected.

Local officials said 95 more mosquito samples — each one containing several dozen bugs — have tested negative since the three traps were found.

"Yes, we will be asking the federal and state government for additional funds as we move on in the fight against Zika, but it doesn't mean we will be stopping any of our efforts," while we wait to be reimbursed, said Gimenez.

Kennedy reported from Fort Lauderdale and Mike Stobbe from New York.



Bromeliads are particularly beautiful in my view. Unfortunately that means that they are a popular yard and garden flower. This is going to be a real problem, I’m afraid.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mylan-boosted-epipens-price-amid-bonus-target-for-execs/

Mylan boosted EpiPen’s price amid bonus target for execs
By AIMEE PICCHI MONEYWATCH
September 1, 2016, 12:56 PM

Play VIDEO -- EpiPen maker responds to price-hike criticism
Play VIDEO -- Mylan to launch generic EpiPen, and other MoneyWatch headlines


As Mylan (MYL) was jacking up the price of EpiPens over the past two years, the drugmaker was also planning to boost something else: its top executives’ pay.

In 2014, Mylan adopted a one-time incentive plan for about 100 top executives that promised to reward them if the company could reach adjusted per-share earnings of $6 by 2018. At the time, the bonuses were worth $82 million to its five top executives alone, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Since the plan was adopted, Mylan has doubled the list price of the EpiPen, a life-saving allergy treatment whose rapid price increases and current $608 price tag has stirred outrage among parents, lawmakers and health-care advocates.

Although companies frequently establish one-time bonus programs to ostensibly align executives’ interests with those of its shareholders, pharmaceutical companies may face ethical questions that don’t necessarily impact other industries. Drugmakers and their investors may enjoy higher profits after they hike prices on their products, but the flip side can be financial pain, illness, and even death if patients and their families are unable to pay for a life-saving medication as a result of those price increases.

It’s “amazing how much consumers can be forced to cough up when such pay agreements occur in an industry where there’s inadequate competition,” wrote Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor, in a Facebook post on Thursday about Mylan’s one-time bonus plan.

In an email to CBS MoneyWatch, Mylan said the incentive plan wasn’t tied to any specific product.

“The targets set forth in the one-time special program were not and are not practically achievable based on pricing of any single product,” the company said. “In fact, Mylan’s business has performed well across all business segments, with our generics business -- which saved the U.S. health care system hundreds of millions of dollars last year -- nearly doubling since 2008.”

Still, the EpiPen has significantly contributed to Mylan’s revenue and bottom line. When Mylan bought the allergy medication from Merck in 2007, it contributed about $200 million in sales. After years of price hikes, revenue has surged to about $1 billion annually. Margins have jumped from about 9 percent in 2008 to about 55 percent in 2014, Bloomberg News reported, citing researcher ABR|Healthco.

Mylan’s adjusted per-share earnings, the yardstick by which the executives will reap their bonuses, have increased since the plan was enacted. In 2013, adjusted EPS was $2.89. By 2015, the most recent period for full-year results, the company earned $4.30, or a jump of 49 percent.

While common, one-time bonuses also haven’t been controversy-free.

Take enterprise software maker Computer Associates. A decade ago, it was involved in a corporate scandal when its top executives were linked with a contract backdating scandal. The executives, not coincidentally, were in line for $670 million in bonuses if its shares remained above a certain price.

In 2014, Mylan said in a regulatory filing the one-time bonus was geared to delivering “return on executive leadership.” It said the plan would provide an incentive for executives to remain with the company through 2018. One group that wasn’t mentioned: customers or patients.

For the most part, executives aren’t likely to resort to accounting shenanigans to achieve their bonus goals. Yet such structures in the pharmaceutical industry raise ethical questions, especially when lives may be risked in return for executive bonuses.



We need strict rules about what businesses are allowed to do, and this kind of heartlessness, especially in the health fields, should be illegal. A business should have its’ legal right to exist taken away for these kinds of things. Big business really sucks.



TRUMP’S RECENT GRIP ON PARTIAL SANITY IS DISSOLVING, I THINK. IT’S SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DEPEND ON HIM TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL IN A CONSISTENT WAY. HIS HISPANIC COUNCIL HAS FOUND THAT OUT.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-adviser-half-of-trumps-hispanic-advisory-board-now-ready-to-resign/

Half of Trump's Hispanic advisory board reportedly ready to resign
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
September 1, 2016, 1:22 PM

Photograph -- Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with his Hispanic Advisory Council at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York Aug. 20, 2016. REUTERS


Half the members of Donald Trump’s Hispanic advisory board are readying their resignations Thursday, following the Republican nominee’s hardline speech on immigration policy in Phoenix, Arizona the previous night.

That’s according to another Hispanic Trump adviser, who told CBSN contributor Leslie Sanchez that several of the 23 board members were ready to yank their support for the billionaire.


Follow
Leslie Sanchez ✔ @LeslieSanchez
Hispanic leader who advises Trump camp telling me half of Trump's Hispanic advisory board is ready to resign today (15 of 30)
11:00 AM - 1 Sep 2016
1,787 1,787 Retweets 1,830 1,830 likes

Follow
Leslie Sanchez ✔ @LeslieSanchez
I'm told greatest issue of contention is the false belief that "self deportation" is a viable option. Don't believe it's humane or real #2
11:31 AM - 1 Sep 2016
9 9 Retweets 13 13 likes

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Leslie Sanchez ✔ @LeslieSanchez
Expectations are so high. ;) Hispanic leaders who advise camp are angry about deportation language. Feel ignored. #3 https://twitter.com/bethanyhardy/status/771371705633824768 …
11:41 AM - 1 Sep 2016
5 5 Retweets 13 13 likes

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Leslie Sanchez ✔ @LeslieSanchez
Others have calls/emails to campaign expressing concern or stating their intention #4 https://twitter.com/SilviaEarhart/status/771372652376174592 …
11:43 AM - 1 Sep 2016
5 5 Retweets 5 5 likes

Follow
Leslie Sanchez ✔ @LeslieSanchez
Folks ranting are Trump Latino advisors. Terms used: "Disgusted" "Disappointed' "Fell back to old habits." "Horrible https://twitter.com/tasb89/status/771380186264854528 …
12:18 PM - 1 Sep 2016
13 13 Retweets 23 23 likes


While some are formally considering leaving the campaign, others who are not publicly renouncing their support told Sanchez that they no longer want to be associated with the GOP nominee.

Sanchez pointed to the flip in tone from Trump’s immigration-centric events on Wednesday as one reason the Hispanic leaders are dissatisfied with the campaign.

“They were doing high-fives” with Trump’s visit to Mexico, Sanchez reported on CBSN, noting that his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto seemed respectful and presidential. “But the speech in Phoenix was an ender for them.”

“It sounded angry,” Sanchez said. “It was this dark approach... [Trump] doesn’t have compassion or a real solution and they just won’t tolerate it.”

Trump has gathered his National Hispanic Advisory Council -- which was created last month and is made up of several faith, civic, and business leaders -- just once, at a meeting in Manhattan’s Trump Tower about two weeks ago.

After the meeting, some of the Hispanic leaders present concluded Trump seemed to be open to “softening” his views on illegal immigration and the deportation of undocumented immigrants. But after weeks of muddling his message further, Trump, in a blistering speech Wednesday evening in Arizona, said every immigrant in the U.S. illegally would be subject to deportation, and he would create a “deportation task force.”

At least one Hispanic Trump surrogate has already pulled his support for the GOP candidate.

Jacob Monty, a member of Trump’s Hispanic council, immediately resigned after the speech, according to a Politico report.