Introducing “Physician Dispensing” – The Latest Troubling Medical Industry Scam

Screen Shot 2015-02-10 at 11.13.33 AMOver the last two years, states nationwide have moved to crack down on so-called physician dispensing of prescription drugs, a practice largely limited to doctors who treat injured workers. But doctors and companies have responded by exploiting loopholes in those rules and adopting new strategies to stay one step ahead, recent studies suggest.

One tactic has been to create novel dosages of old drugs to get around cost controls on traditional ones, according to a report issued in January by the Workers Compensation Research Institute, a group in Cambridge, Mass. Along with the 7.5-milligram version of cyclobenzaprine, the muscle relaxant, new dosages of two older painkillers, tramadol and hydrocodone, that carry far higher prices than the standard versions, have also appeared, the study found.

– From today’s New York Times article: New Dosages of Old Drugs Are Used to Raise Their Prices

The main theme here at Liberty Blitzkrieg since inception has been that these United States, indeed much of the world, has become completely captured by a corrupt, greedy, ruthless oligarchy that has made itself entirely unaccountable, thus destroying the rule of law. In order to keep the racket going, the oligarchy relies on a minion class to support the power structure. Naturally, this minion class is generally too brainwashed, ignorant or stupid to even understand their place in the social structure, which makes them far more effective. Basically, “useful idiots.”

This class is also often given immunity from prosecution, which ensures that the worst rise to the top. Police fall into this category, which is partly why we have seen such insane criminality in recent years, ranging the gamut from extreme violence to outright theft. All of this has been happening as crime in America has been declining for decades.

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Move Over Syriza and Podemos – Revolutionary Indian Political Party Sweeps New Delhi Elections

Screen Shot 2015-02-10 at 3.15.18 PMCritics say that Kejriwal has been acting like a political novice by releasing a slew of allegations that may not come to much. Khurshid, for once, has said that Kejriwal was “an ant taking on the might of an elephant”.

Kejriwal accepts that survival in Indian politics against established political behemoths requires “strategic planning”, acknowledging that his “timing could have been planned better”. 

While Kejriwal admits he is still learning, he believes that the truth will prevail. “Remember they may have survived for many decades in politics, but we too are formidable foes in pursuing truth,” he said.

Kejriwal objects to the fact that “power is vested in a political establishment in Delhi and in state capitals. It needs to be people-centric”. His use of street protests has earned him the respect of the middle class.

– From the November 4, 2012 Al Jazeera article: India’s ‘Assange’ crusades against corruption

More than two years ago, I published an article titled, Meet Arvind Kejriwal: “India’s Julian Assange,” which focused on the crusade for social justice of a man I had never heard of. It immediately seemed important to me as further evidence of the nascent global political awakening against corrupt politicians, large corporations and central banks. In the intervening years, we have seen the rise of Syriza in Greece, Podemos in Spain and even Bepe Grillo’s Five Star Movement in Italy. I hadn’t heard of Mr. Kejriwal again…until today.

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Video of the Day – John Oliver on Pharma Company “Marketing to Doctors”

Screen Shot 2015-02-10 at 11.13.33 AMJohn Oliver is simply brilliant. Not only does he have an uncanny ability to mix humor with serious social issues, but his videos can be so powerful they impact public policy at the national level.

Although the reforms to civil asset forfeiture announced by Eric Holder are entirely inadequate, it seems clear that his incredible video on the issue (highlighted in the post: “Common People Do Not Carry This Much U.S. Currency…” – This is How Police Justify Stealing American Citizens’ Money) played a role in influencing the national debate.

His latest video might be his best one yet. I haven’t watched anything this good in a while.

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Crony States of America – Wall Street Firms are Trying to Hide Payoffs Made to Employees Entering Government

“There is a lot of work ahead for the management to recover its reputation.”

– John Whitehead, Ex-Goldman Sachs Chairman, in a 2010 Wall Street Journal interview

Goldman Sachs may need to work on its image. This year, the firm beat recall-riddled General Motors along with Koch Industries and BP for the dubious distinction of worst corporate reputation, according to a new poll. Market research firm Harris Poll on Wednesday, Feb. 4, published its 16th annual ranking of the 100 most visible companies in the U.S., sorted by how positively the general public viewed them, and Goldman landed at the bottom.

– From the Bloomberg article: America’s Most Loved and Most Hated Companies

Citigroup is one of three Wall Street banks attempting to keep hidden their practice of paying executives multimillion-dollar awards for entering government service. In letters delivered to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the last month, Citi,Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley seek exemption from a shareholder proposal, filed by the AFL-CIO labor coalition, which would force them to identify all executives eligible for these financial rewards, and the specific dollar amounts at stake. Critics argue these “golden parachutes” ensure more financial insiders in policy positions and favorable treatment toward Wall Street.

– From the New Republic article: Wall Street Pays Bankers to Work in Government and It Doesn’t Want Anyone to Know

The following post covers three important and related articles demonstrating and highlighting the criminality and corruption that has come to define the U.S. economy in the post bailout years. It’s a big part of the reason why the so-called “recovery” has been so uneven, and why there is record inequality.

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A Very Slippery Slope – Yes, Your Samsung Smart TV Can Listen to Your Private Conversations

Screen Shot 2015-02-09 at 12.00.50 PMThe biggest story in the tech world today is the revelation that Samsung’s Smart TV can and will listen to your conversations, and will share the details with a third party. Yes, you read that right. Here’s the actual language from the privacy policy itself:

“Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party.”

Naturally, this has freaked people out and led to multiple comparisons to 1984 and the ubiquitous Big Brother. It was framed exceptionally well by EFF activist Parker Higgins in the following tweet:

Screen Shot 2015-02-09 at 11.21.39 AM

While the privacy policy statement is disturbing in its own right, the extent of how creepy it is has to do with the fact that this information will be shared with a “third party.” This begs the question, who is this third party? Corynne McSherry, the intellectual property director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has some thoughts. From the Daily Beast:

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Post Crisis Scorecard – Global Debt Up $57 Trillion, 60% of American Jobs Created Are Low Level, Record Youth Living with Parents

Screen Shot 2015-02-06 at 12.13.51 PM
This morning, my Twitter stream was filled with some of the most outlandish bullish economic victory laps from pundits I’ve ever seen. The source was the monthly employment report, which showed a larger than expected increase in employment as well as higher wages. In addition, there was a huge upward revision to employment data in November. Interestingly enough, on the same day this report was released, several important articles came across my screen that make me as concerned as ever about the true state of the economy and where we are headed.

First, CNN Money just yesterday published an article titled: Obama Jobs: More Caregivers, Servers and Temps. Here are a few excerpts:

Got a job while Obama was president? Then there’s a good chance you are working in healthcare or food service or as a temp.

Those sectors were responsible more than 60% of the jobs created since Obama took office in January 2009.

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A Very Disturbing and Powerful Post – “Get Your Loved Ones Off Facebook”

Screen Shot 2014-07-01 at 2.41.34 PM“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you why you’re getting off Facebook,” is the guilty and reluctant question I’m hearing a lot these days. Like we kinda know Facebook is bad, but don’t really want to know.

I’ve been a big Facebook supporter – one of the first users in my social group who championed what a great way it was to stay in touch, way back in 2006. I got my mum and brothers on it, and around 20 other people. I’ve even taught Facebook marketing in one of the UK’s biggest tech education projects, Digital Business Academy. I’m a techie and a marketer — so I can see the implications — and until now, they hadn’t worried me. I’ve been pretty dismissive towards people who hesitate with privacy concerns.

With this latest privacy change on January 30th, I’m scared.

– From Salim Varani’s blogpost: Get Your Loved Ones Off Facebook

I never heard of Salim Varani before today, but when I came across his blogpost “Get Your Loved Ones Off Facebook,” it immediately piqued my interest given my less than positive feelings toward the company. It took on an even greater degree of importance in my mind considering that I had just finished reading what appeared to be a Facebook puff piece at Fusion.net about how the company, guided by “privacy sherpa” Yul Kwon, was suddenly making user privacy a core focus. It read like a PR release. Here are a few excerpts:

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NBC’s Brian Williams is Forced to Admit His Tale of Being on a Downed Helicopter in Iraq Was Pure Fantasy

Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 3.45.27 PMNBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday he was not aboard a helicopter hit and forced down by RPG fire during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a false claim that has been repeated by the network for years.

The admission came after crew members on the 159th Aviation Regiment’s Chinook that was hit by two rockets and small arms fire told Stars and Stripes that the NBC anchor was nowhere near that aircraft or two other Chinooks flying in the formation that took fire. Williams arrived in the area about an hour later on another helicopter after the other three had made an emergency landing, the crew members said.

– From Stars and Stripes article: NBC’s Brian Williams Recants Iraq Story After Soldiers Protest

Just in case you still harbor any doubt that mainstream media is nothing but a pathetic amalgamation of useless liars and propagandists…

Enter NBC’s star reporter Brian Williams. A man apparently so vain and attention starved that he actually invented a war story from 2003 to make himself look tougher. Then he continued to tell the false narrative until U.S. soldiers called him out on it.

What an complete and total embarrassment.

From Stars and Stripes:

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Bankers for Hire – Former Bank of Baltimore CEO Admits He Worked for the CIA

Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 12.27.13 PMHis friends, former employees and even his own daughters were shocked to learn in his recently published biography that he had ample reason to do so: The former chief executive and chairman of Bank of Baltimore says he worked covertly for the Central Intelligence Agency for almost a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s.

During that time, he said, he spoke regularly with a CIA handler and allowed the agency to create a fake company under his corporate umbrella, which included shipping and trucking companies he ran at the same time he led the bank. Operatives in the field used the fictitious firm as cover when traveling the world, complete with business cards and hats. Mr. Hale said he worked under “nonofficial cover,” in which his identity was unassociated with the U.S. government.

– From the Wall Street Journal Article: Former Maryland Banker Reveals He Used to Work for CIA

The term “non-official” cover was covered previously at Liberty Blitzkrieg last year in the extremely popular post, “Non-Official Cover” – Respected German Journalist Blows Whistle on How the CIA Controls the Media. In it, I wrote:

Whether you want to admit it or not, CIA control of the media in the U.S. and abroad is not conspiracy theory, it is conspiracy fact.

“Non-official cover” occurs when a journalist is essentially working for the CIA, but it’s not in an official capacity. This allows both parties to reap the rewards of the partnership, while at the same time giving both sides plausible deniability. The CIA will find young journalists and mentor them. Suddenly doors will open up, rewards will be given, and before you know it, you owe your entire career to them. That’s essentially how it works. 

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Shameless – Meet 7 Congressmen Who Joined Lobbying Firms Less Than a Month After Leaving Office

Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 11.11.22 AMLess than a month after leaving office, at least five former House members and one U.S. senator are already on the payroll at firms that make millions lobbying their congressional colleagues. The findings, provided to Vocativ by the Center for Responsive Politics, a government watchdog group, also show that a second senator who left office at the beginning of January, Alaska’s Mark Begich, took the extra step of starting his own public affairs consulting firm, which has already secured clients in health care and aviation.

– From Vocativ’s article: These Are The Ex-Lawmakers Who Could Barely Wait To Sell Out

If there was a walk of shame for so-called Congressional “representatives,” this list would serve as an excellent starting point. Their actions serve as definitive proof that the vast majority of politicians are only in it for money and power. They couldn’t care less about “public service” or being statesmen. If that was truly their calling in life, they wouldn’t immediately turn around and join lobbying firms the moment they leave office.

Yet all they do is cash in. That’s all they ever do.

The most amazing part about this article is that “by law, ex-House members are required to wait one year before they can officially lobby lawmakers on the Hill.” Naturally, professional liars and thieves won’t let something as pedestrian as ethics or rules get in the way. If there’s one thing politicians are good at, it’s finding loopholes.

From Vocativ:

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