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demmiblue

demmiblue's Journal
demmiblue's Journal
October 13, 2015

‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli challenges Bernie Sanders to debate on healthcare

Source: Raw Story



Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli accused Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) of taking “cheap shots” against him while also challenging the Democratic presidential candidate to a debate, Attn reported.

<snip>

The former hedge fund manager’s attack came after Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) contacted him on Sept. 21 asking for financial information about Turing Pharmaceuticals.

The two lawmakers later said in a statement that, after promising to lower the price of the drug in response to the public backlash, Shkreli “hired an army of new Washington lobbyists and lawyers to stem the massive fallout from his actions and to stymie congressional oversight.”

Shkreli fired back saying Sanders “should be ashamed” for attacking the industry, and later rejecting allegations that he raised the price of Daraprim out of greed.

“I don’t even own a car,” he wrote. “I don’t even have a driver’s license. Our company is not profitable. My salary is $0. I give millions to charity.”


Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-challenges-bernie-sanders-to-debate-on-healthcare/

Senator Sanders is certainly striking a lot of nerves!
October 8, 2015

This Indian web series' gender-flipped world explains why we need feminism

Source: Mashable



Are you a feminist?

These days, that question's being posed more often than ever. Actors and politicians are regularly asked to give their stances on feminism — which makes a certain amount of sense, since gender issues are at the forefront of American politics and entertainment.

But what you may not realize is that feminism isn't only a hot topic in Western world. Take India, for example, where subjects like rape and misogyny are finally being addressed publicly after centuries of silence. There, feminism is a relatively new concept — and a word regarded warily for its associations with the West. But it's finally beginning to have its moment.

Proof: In Y Films' new Indian web series Man's World, the main character, Kiran, is a man who's tired of hearing women talk about feminism. He thinks that women actually have it easy, and that they won’t like true equality because they'll no longer be favored. His frustration eventually brings about a Freaky Friday-esque scenario: Kiran wakes up in a world run by women, where men face daily injustices and struggle collectively to break free. Also, now they're the ones who have periods.


Read more: http://mashable.com/2015/10/07/mans-world-switches-gender-roles/#IX.mSdlK98qL
October 7, 2015

Urban Outfitters parent company asks employees to work for free

Source: Philly.com

If you work at Urban Outfitters, your bosses want you to work for free. To keep up with the increased seasonal demand, the parent company of Urban Outfitters, URBN, which also owns Free People and Anthropologie, sent an employee-only email calling for volunteers.

URBN, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, asked its salaried employees to engage in “a team-building activity,” picking, packing and preparing packages for shipment.

Part of the email reads:

“URBN is seeking weekend volunteers to help out at our fulfillment center in Gap, PA. October will be the busiest month yet for the center, and we need additional helping hands to ensure the timely shipment of orders. As a volunteer, you will work side by side with your GFC colleagues to help pick, pack and ship orders for our wholesale and direct customers.”



More: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/style/Urban-Outfitters-parent-company-asks-employees-work-for-free.html
October 6, 2015

“Blood Lions” premieres Wednesday October 7th on MSNBC (graphic/disturbing)

Source: MSNBC



The death of a beloved lion named Cecil, at the hands of an American hunter in Zimbabwe, struck a nerve around the globe. The debate about the ethics of that hunt still provokes strong emotions. On Wednesday, October 7th, MSNBC will focus on another side of the industry, the legal side. Blood Lions, a one hour documentary, takes viewers inside the seldom seen world of the “canned hunting” industry in South Africa.

With the help of Ian Michler, safari operator and environmental journalist and Rick Swazey, an American hunter, viewers will see inside the breeding farms where lions are bred for a variety of exploitative revenue streams.

“Our film is an exposé,” says Blood Lions director Bruce Young, “most of the lions exist in appalling conditions, exploited at every stage of their lives. Even the people in South Africa do not know that lions are being bred for the bullet – and that it is totally legal. We want to show the world what is going on, who is involved, the impact on the animals and how much money is being generated by this industry.”

Also known as captive bred lion hunting, canned hunts allow hunters to select their lion ahead of time and complete a hunt in a matter of just three days. Canned hunts provide a cheaper, faster, and a surefire way of hunting predatory animals, compared to wild lion hunts which may last weeks with a much lower probability of success. Americans are largely fueling the industry, with 62% of the trophies being imported into the United States, according to Humane Society International.

More: http://www.msnbc.com/documentaries/blood-lions-premieres-wednesday-october-7th-msnbc


Pics from The Dodo: https://www.thedodo.com/blood-lions-bred-to-be-hunted-1390365864.html









October 6, 2015

Child miners: The photos that helped abolish child labor in the U.S.

Source: Mashable

<snip>

By 1910, an estimated 2 million children under the age of 15 were working industrial jobs, for lower wages than adults. Employers often took advantage of their small size and made them squeeze into tight spaces or handle small tools.

Faced with back-breaking labor and long, exhausting shifts, fatigued child workers suffered high accident rates. Those who were injured or maimed in the course of their duties often received no compensation.

In 1904, the National Child Labor Committee was formed by progressives determined to end the exploitation of child labor. Within a decade, the federal government had absorbed the committee and reestablished it as the Children’s Bureau within the Department of Labor.

The NCLC hired photographers to investigate and document the working conditions of child laborers in factories, mines, mills and other industrial settings. Among them was Lewis Hine, a New York City schoolteacher and sociologist.

<snip>

Hine’s photos and the work of the NCLC led to the passage of the Keatings-Owen Child Labor Act in 1916, which established minimum ages and maximum shift lengths for young workers. The Act was later ruled unconstitutional, but it laid the foundation for permanent child labor laws to be established during the New Deal.











More: http://mashable.com/2015/10/05/child-miners/#OBxjcasoGkqc
October 5, 2015

A Facebook page is helping lost pets find home during South Carolina flooding

Source: Mashable

Following a weekend of historic flooding in South Carolina, one Facebook page is working to return lost pets to their owners.

Since Friday, more than two feet of rain has fallen in the region, leaving dogs, cats and even horses stranded. (And the flooding isn't over yet, either.) Lost & Found Pets of South Carolina has been uploading photos of missing pets, some of which come at the request of worried owners. Others show rain-soaked cats and dogs that have been rescued but not yet identified.





http://mashable.com/2015/10/05/lost-and-found-pets-south-carolina/#2RENyo4aGEqz
October 4, 2015

Bill Clinton to fund-raise for Hillary in Michigan

Source: Freep

Former president Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker next month at a major fundraiser in Michigan for his wife Hillary Clinton’s presidential run, according to invitations going out to prominent Democrats.

Invitations say the former president will be the “special guest” at an Oct. 7 reception, 2-4 p.m., at the Bingham Farms home of Doreen Hermelin, whose late husband David Hermelin served under Bill Clinton as ambassador to Norway before his death in 2000.

Tickets to the event are $500 apiece, but those who pay $2,700 can arrange for a photo taken with the former president, and those who pay $10,000 will be honored as co-hosts at a special “host reception."

Invitations don’t give the address of the Hemelin home, but the on-line real-estate service Radaris Property Search lists it as a 17,000-square-foot mansion on 15 acres. David Hermelin became wealthy as the developer of shopping centers and apartment buildings nationwide, ultimately becoming co-owner of the Palace of Auburn Hills, where the Detroit Pistons play, and co-owner of Pine Knob Music Theater, according to his Free Press obituary. He died at 63 of brain cancer.


More: http://www.freep.com/story/news/2015/09/26/bill-clinton-fund-raise-hillary-michigan/72896408/

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