"US backs MIT-led research into wearable devices" by Jon Chesto Globe Staff April 01, 2016
A consortium of colleges and businesses led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has won a national competition to host a novel federally funded research program to turn clothing fibers and fabrics into wearable electronic devices, officials are expected to announce Friday.
Who knew buying a shirt could be that much trouble?
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is scheduled to join Governor Charlie Baker at MIT’s Sloan School of Management Friday to reveal that Advanced Functional Fibers of America, a new public-private consortium, was selected for the initiative.
“Here is a bold vision that’s not just manufacturing stuff that we know about but also enabling a whole new interpretation of the fabric industry,” said Yoel Fink, director of the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics, who will lead the effort.
From Fink’s perspective, the possibilities are essentially endless. Clothing fibers could be designed to change color, monitor health, or even store energy.
Yeah, the NSA won't need to track location by phone anymore, and the FBI won't have to break into it.
“We’re going to start seeing fibers that do a lot more for you over time,” Fink said. “Suddenly, this 20 square feet of surface area that covers you starts having a functionality.”
Entrepreneurs would be able to come to the partnership with ideas, Fink said. In return, the partnership could use its network to provide research, development, and manufacturing capabilities for the best projects.
US Representative Joseph P. Kennedy, a Democrat from Brookline, said the federal selection of the MIT group is appropriate given the state’s long history in the textile industry.
The long outsourced and offshore textile industry?
The fiber initiative represents the latest and biggest win for Massachusetts in the federal government’s National Network for Manufacturing Innovation competition.
For $ome anyway.
Massachusetts researchers are already playing roles in two other US-backed manufacturing partnerships, one focused on photonics and the other on flexible electronics. But this is the first time that one of these high-tech manufacturing partnerships will be based here.
The federal government launched the manufacturing program in 2012 to improve technology in various products.
It's all linced to the false economy.
The MIT-led partnership will have a huge reach — universities, companies, and startup incubators from 28 states are expected to participate. Among local players are the University of Massachusetts’ Amherst and Lowell campuses and Quinsigamond Community College, according to the state secretary of economic affairs, Jay Ash.
Oh, they are going to spread the loot around to keep everyone in line.
Also see: Quinsigamond Community College evacuated again due to threat
Don't lose your shirt over it.
“This is big news for Boston and Cambridge,” Ash said. “But it’s also big news for Worcester, Springfield, and Lowell because they’re all going to be beneficiaries of the research that’s going to be done.”
Related:
Skateboarding to Springfield
UMass Lowell announces $125 million fund-raising campaign
UMass says financial aid reaches new high of $255 million
Managed to dig those up for you.
Massachusetts companies include Bose Corp., Analog Devices Inc., New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., and Ministry of Supply, a clothing startup in Boston, the Defense Department said, and Fink added that the Army’s Soldiers Systems Center in Natick will be involved.
They might lose their Balance.
The federal government has pledged $75 million to the effort over five years, while the Baker administration pledged to provide up to $40 million in state funds, with additional money coming from members of the consortium that could push the total contributions to more than $300 million.
Oh, that's nice.
This as the social service sector in this state is shredded and GE gets a few hundred million to relocate.
Can you really be under the illusion that the state of Ma$$achu$etts is working for you, fellow citizen?
$eriously?
Baker has included money for the effort in an economic development bill he filed with the Legislature; that bill is slated to be discussed in a public hearing on Tuesday. Ash said the administration can provide some money to help get the program off the ground, even if that bill doesn’t become law.
Yes, they will find some way to fund the agenda-pushing $hit.
“We have enough money for our initial investment and we’ve been working with the Legislature, and we are very comfortable with what the Legislature has indicated to us,” Ash said. “If we were for some reason to fail to secure the funding, we’ve talked about ways with MIT to support the funding through other state resources or look to the private sector.”
--more--"
You might want to change that shirt.
"Website seeks to make government data easier to view and understand" by Steve Lohr New York Times April 05, 2016
NEW YORK — For years, the federal government, states, and some cities have enthusiastically made vast troves of data open to the public.
(Blog editor sighs at the bulls** spewing forth from the NYT)
Acres of paper records on demographics, public health, traffic patterns, energy consumption, family incomes, and many other topics have been digitized and posted on the Web.
This abundance of data can be a gold mine for discovery and insights, but finding the nuggets can be arduous, requiring special skills.
A project described by the MIT Media Lab on Monday seeks to ease that challenge and to make the value of government data available to a wider audience.
The project, called Data USA, bills itself as “the most comprehensive visualization of US public data.” It is free, and its software code is open source, meaning that developers can build custom applications by adding other data.
Cesar A. Hidalgo, an assistant professor of media arts and sciences at the MIT Media Lab who led the development of Data USA, said the website was devised to “transform data into stories.” Those stories are typically presented as graphics, charts, and written summaries.
The media lab worked with the consulting and auditing firm Deloitte, which provided funding and expertise on how people use government data sets in business and for research.
You know, the ones that botched several state and federal websites.
“The goal was organize and visualize data in a way that a lot of people think about it,” said Patricia Buckley, director of economic policy and analysis at Deloitte and a former senior economist at the Commerce Department.
Revolving door.
Type “New York” into the Data USA search box, and a drop-down menu presents choices — the city, the metropolitan area, the state, and other options.
Select the city, and the page displays an aerial shot of Manhattan with three basic statistics: population (8.49 million), median household income ($52,996) and median age (35.8).
Lower on the page are six icons for related subject categories, including economy, demographics, and education.
If you click on demographics, one of the data stories appears, based largely on data from the American Community Survey of the US Census Bureau.
Using colorful graphics and short sentences, it shows the median age of foreign-born residents of New York (44.7) and of residents born in the United States (28.6); the most common countries of origin for immigrants (the Dominican Republic, China, and Mexico); and the percentage of residents who are US citizens (82.8 percent, compared with a national average of 93 percent).
Data USA features a selection of data results on its home page. They include the gender wage gap in Connecticut; the racial breakdown of poverty in Flint, Mich.; the wages of physicians and surgeons across the United States; and the institutions that award the most computer science degrees.
Hal R. Varian, chief economist of Google, who has no connection to Data USA, called the site “very informative and aesthetically pleasing.” The fact the government is making so much data publicly available, he added, is fueling creative work like Data USA.
And it all looks like worthless shit to me.
Data USA embodies an approach to data analysis that will most likely become increasingly common, said Kris Hammond, a computer science professor at Northwestern University. The site makes assumptions about its users and programs those assumptions into its software, he said.
“It is driven by the idea that we can actually figure out what a user is going to want to know when they are looking at a data set,” Hammond said.
Can you tell what they don't want?
Data scientists, he said, often bristle when such limitations are put into the tools they use. But they are the data world’s power users, and power users are a limited market, Hammond said.
--more--"
Time to get running:
"New Balance accuses Pentagon of reneging on sneaker deal" by Jon Chesto Globe Staff April 12, 2016
New Balance is renewing its opposition to the far-reaching Pacific Rim trade deal, saying the Obama administration reneged on a promise to give the sneaker maker a fair shot at military business if it stopped bad-mouthing the agreement.
Get in line. We've had over seven years of them.
After several years of resistance to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact aimed at making it easier to conduct trade among the United States and 11 other countries, the Boston company had gone quiet last year. New Balance officials say one big reason is that they were told the Department of Defense would give them serious consideration for a contract to outfit recruits with athletic shoes.
But no order has been placed, and New Balance officials say the Pentagon is intentionally delaying any purchase.
New Balance is reviving its fight against the trade deal, which would, in part, gradually phase out tariffs on shoes made in Vietnam. A loss of those tariffs, the company says, would make imports cheaper and jeopardize its factory jobs in New England.
The administration has made the pact a priority. It could be voted on by Congress later this year, though possibly not until after the November elections.
When all the lame ducks will ram it through in the dead of night against the will of the people.
“We swallowed the poison pill that is TPP so we could have a chance to bid on these contracts,” said Matt LeBretton, New Balance’s vice president of public affairs. “We were assured this would be a top-down approach at the Department of Defense if we agreed to either support or remain neutral on TPP. [But] the chances of the Department of Defense buying shoes that are made in the USA are slim to none while Obama is president.”
Thank God it won't be that much longer.
The administration says the issues of foreign tariffs and of whether the Pentagon should be required to buy shoes made domestically are entirely separate.
New Balance disagrees. Though most of the company’s shoes are made overseas, domestic manufacturing is a big priority for owner Jim Davis, a longtime Republican donor.
The company employs about 1,400 people at its five New England factories — one in Brighton, one in Lawrence, and three in Maine. Company officials say they are looking to add workers to those plants, and they see a major military contract, with potentially as many as 200,000 shoe orders a year, as a way to help reach that goal.
Nearly every piece of gear that military recruits wear is made in the United States, per a 1940s-era law known as the Berry Amendment. But for many years, athletic shoes were exempt, largely because of a lack of sufficient domestic options.
Hoping to change that, New Balance and other companies worked toward making an all-American shoe. New Balance even purchased an expensive machine to make midsoles, a key component that was nearly always made overseas.
In 2014, the Pentagon relented. With competition among US manufacturers, officials said they were ready to consider domestically made shoes.
LeBretton said a representative for the Obama administration then asked New Balance to accept a compromise version of the trade deal, partly in exchange for a pledge of help getting the Department the Defense to expedite the purchase of US-made shoes.
Did some horse-trading, 'eh?
But that help never arrived, LeBretton said. The agency still hasn’t ordered any US-made sneakers.
The problem, according to the Department of Defense, is that none of the three New Balance shoes offered for consideration met the agency’s cost requirements and one didn’t meet durability standards.
And some cheap foreign import will?
The administration portrays the delay as quality and cost control. But New Balance sees it as foot-dragging, and as reason enough to revive its fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“The Department of Defense has basically played a shell game with domestic footwear manufacturers to protect the profits of their [base stores],” said LeBretton, who added that the company has offered to sell its shoes to the military with no retail markup. “They’ve put up roadblock after roadblock. Our shoes are ready to go. It’s a bureaucracy run amok.”
A spokesman for the Office of the US Trade Representative said the Obama administration supports New Balance’s efforts to develop a shoe that’s compliant with the Berry Amendment. He said it is a mistake for the company to use that issue as a reason not to support the separate trade accord.
“It is unfortunate that, despite a strong outcome in TPP that advances the interest of US footwear workers, New Balance now appears to be changing its position on TPP in response to the Pentagon’s separate procurement process,” spokesman Matt McAlvanah said in a statement.
New Balance’s stance also drew criticism from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, which argues that eliminating the Asia tariffs would be good for consumers and could allow US companies to invest more in domestic operations. “We would have loved to have had all duties eliminated on Day One,” said Matt Priest, the group’s president. “That’s not what we got. We got a compromise.”
But like New Balance, Representative Niki Tsongas is tired of waiting for the domestic shoe contract.
The Lowell Democrat is trying to include legislation in the next big defense spending bill that would ensure the department’s purchase of US-made shoes for recruits. She is expected to have assistance from members of Maine’s delegation.
Wolverine Worldwide, another company looking to build an all-US running shoe for the military, backs the Asia-Pacific deal and will also support Tsongas’s legislation. Spokesman David Costello said Wolverine, whose Saucony brand is based in Lexington, is also frustrated by the delays. Landing a Pentagon contract, he said, could create a positive impact that would ripple throughout Wolverine’s and New Balance’s supply chains and support smaller companies that make components for the shoes.
Executives at New Balance recognize that they risk alienating a big potential customer by challenging the US government over the trade agreement.
But LeBretton said it’s worth the gamble.
“We make a lot fewer shoes in the US than we do overseas, but the point is we’re trying to make more here, not less,” LeBretton said. “When agreements like this go into place, what that says to us is that our president and our trade negotiators, they don’t want us to make more products here.”
We already knew that. It's all lip service from those $cum.
It's also another reason for the Trump effect.
--more--"
Btw, you can't see the TPP agreement (unless you live in New Zealand).
You know, footwear is the most important part of your attire:
"New Balance puts pressure on Pentagon" by Jon Chesto Globe Staff April 13, 2016
New Balance CEO Rob DeMartini criticized the Defense Department on Tuesday, saying the agency has refused to seriously consider buying the company’s American-made athletic shoes for military personnel.
DeMartini spoke to the media a day after the sneaker maker renewed its opposition to the Obama administration’s Pacific Rim trade deal, claiming the administration had gone back on an assurance that the company would get a chance to compete for military business in exchange for ending its vocal objections to the agreement.
The Boston company has been aggressively pursuing a Pentagon contract for years. It appeared to have a major breakthrough two years ago when the Defense Department decided to honor the Berry Amendment with regard to athletic shoes for recruits. That 1940s-era law essentially requires the purchase of domestically manufactured clothing and equipment for recruits. There had been an exemption for sneakers because of the lack of American-made options.
Lack by design, btw.
But since that time, New Balance claims that the agency has been stonewalling, and not showing a sincere interest in the all-American shoes the company wants to make for the military.
Like I said, been seven years of that stuff.
“DoD has consistently moved the goal post,” DeMartini told reporters at the company’s Brighton headquarters. “They’ve gone as far to say our shoes haven’t measured up. That’s ridiculous. We've been in this business for 110 years.”
The office of the US trade representative maintains that the two issues — the Pentagon business and the trade accord — should be treated separately, and that New Balance’s needs were taken into consideration in the trade talks. The Obama administration has made getting the accord approved by Congress a major priority for its final year, although the vote might not happen until after the November elections.
Matt McAlvanah, a spokesman for the federal trade agency, said it worked hard to ensure that the trade deal provides economic benefits for New Balance and the rest of the footwear industry. He noted that Ambassador Michael Froman met with New Balance workers in Maine in one of his first trips as US trade representative.
“Our negotiators met extensively with New Balance to achieve a strong TPP outcome,” McAlvanah said in a statement. “We are disappointed that New Balance has changed its position on TPP based on factors outside the agreement. The Department of Defense makes procurement decisions following its own processes and quality and affordability requirements.”
Defense Department officials claim the shoes New Balance has offered for consideration to the Pentagon do not meet its cost standards, and one of the models did not meet durability standards. A spokesman for the department couldn’t be reached on Tuesday for comment.
Yeah, and we all know how frugal and fastidious the Pentagon is with money.
Related: 2.3 Trillion Dollars Missing from DOD
It's up to $8.5 now, and whatever hit the Pentagon destroyed those files.
When the company last year turned neutral on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact aimed at making trade easier among the United States and 11 other countries, it did so after opposing the pact for several years.
One reason that switch happened, company officials said, was because New Balance was promised an audience with a top-ranking Pentagon official to discuss the opportunity to provide shoes for military recruits.
“We had a commitment from the trade ambassador [Michael Froman] that he would help to facilitate that meeting, and to the best of our knowledge, that simply has not happened,” DeMartini said. “We’re not getting the treatment that our American workers need and deserve.”
DeMartini said the company is worried that the trade accord’s phase-out of tariffs on shoes made overseas, particularly in Vietnam, will happen too quickly and will put New Balance’s domestic manufacturing at a competitive disadvantage. New Balance employs about 1,400 people at five New England factories, and is the last major company to manufacture athletic shoes in this country.
And the U.S. government is $crewing them over co$t!
New Balance still makes the bulk of its shoes overseas. But owner Jim Davis, a longtime Republican contributor, is a big believer in American manufacturing and sees the military business as a way to add jobs in his factories. A contract with the Pentagon could result in the purchase of as many as 200,000 shoes or more a year.
War is always good for the economy.
DeMartini said the company is willing to offer these shoes at no markup to the Pentagon.
“We know American workers can make shoes for American soldiers,” he said.
Can they change color like the shirt?
--more--"
I have nothing left to give you today, readers.
UPDATE:
"Big data booms in Massachusetts" by Amanda Burke, 03/08/2016
In Massachusetts, big data is big business.
A new report finds that 53 new big data companies have come to Massachusetts since 2014, bringing the number to 537 — a jump of about 10 percent.
The report by Mass Big Data, a project of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, also found that the number of schools offering data science certificate or degree programs rose from zero to five within the past three years: Harvard, Northeastern, UMass Dartmouth, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Becker College. UMass Amherst recently opened new center for data science, although it does not have a degree program in data science.
Former Governor Deval Patrick launched an initiative two years ago to make Massachusetts a leader in the emerging big data industry. The report is an update to a 2014 inaugural report.
The report did not look at how Massachusetts compares to other states, focusing instead on how the industry is maturing here.
The report defines a big data company as one “whose main products and/or services directly relate to big data.” This includes industries that are heavily reliant on data analysis: marketing, financial tech, business analytics, and the life sciences.
Investors have taken note. The previous two years have seen an inflow of $2.4 billion in reported private investment in big data companies in the state. In addition, 194 big data projects in areas such as cybersecurity and the life sciences received federal funding. Since 2013, $115 million, most of it from the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Science Foundation, has been awarded to Massachusetts companies.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology received the most federal grants — 23 since 2013 — followed by Harvard with 22.
Pat Larkin, director of the Innovation Institute at MassTech, said the state’s research institutions are driving the growth in big data.
“Big data, data science, data analytics… I see nothing but growth for big data’s capability in the state,” Larkin said.
I $ee a total $urveillance society where we are all naked.
--more--"
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Baker's Bridgewater
It was bound to happen:
Bridgewater State Hospital overhaul remains unfunded
It breaks your heart, doesn't it?
Especially after I was told things were getting better at the state torture center, and now I find out it is as bad as ever after they pledged to do better.
"Man’s death at Bridgewater State Hospital probed" by Jan Ransom and John R. Ellement Globe Staff April 11, 2016
Authorities are investigating the death of a 43-year-old Lawrence man in his cell at Bridgewater State Hospital Friday night, the state Department of Correction said.
Correction officials found Leo Marino unresponsive at 7:35 p.m. and “immediately initiated full emergency response beginning with CPR,’’ spokesman Darren Duarte said in a statement on Monday.
Marino was taken by Bridgewater firefighters to Morton Hospital in Taunton, where he was pronounced dead at 8:33 p.m., Duarte said. He said the state medical examiner’s office will determine a cause of death.
No further information was released about Marino’s death, which is not considered suspicious.
Happens on occasion, no big deal.
State Police assigned to the Plymouth district attorney’s office are investigating, according to DA spokeswoman Beth Stone, who declined further comment.
I'm filled with loads of confidence.
The Lawrence man was admitted to Bridgewater State Hospital on Oct. 13 from the Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton for observation, according to the Correction Department.
Special report: Bridgewater State Hospital
He was facing charges out of Newburyport District Court for allegedly operating under the influence of drugs and possession of a controlled substance. He was also charged in Lawrence District Court with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and strangulation and suffocation.
Marino was civilly committed on Jan. 28 to the facility after he was found incompetent to stand trial in Essex Superior Court on the charges out of Lawrence.
Roderick MacLeish Jr., the attorney who filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Bridgewater inmates in 2014, said Marino had “significant mental illness” but did not elaborate.
Bridgewater State Hospital is a medium-security facility whose population is made up of men civilly committed because of a mental health issue, prison inmates sent to the hospital because of mental health issues, and pretrial detainees who are undergoing a mental health evaluation.
According to MacLeish, Marino spent more than 250 hours in seclusion last month.
That would drive you crazy.
The Department of Correction was unable to confirm that, but MacLeish said the length of time he spent in seclusion “raises troubling concerns.”
“Given the level of monitoring there is supposed to be, it’s difficult to see how this happened,” he said. “Was he being watched?”
Officials at Correction Department did not say whether Marino was supervised in the moments leading up to his death.
“The Department of Correction is undergoing a root cause analysis of this case as we do in any unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury at Bridgewater State Hospital,” Duarte said. “We hope to have all questions answered as soon as possible.”
MacLeish said Marino was in the Intensive Treatment Unit, which consists of 12 rooms behind locked steel doors where patients have limited privileges.
The area is monitored with surveillance cameras and staff check patients every 15 minutes.
Marino’s death follows that of at least three others at the embattled facility in which the patients died after the alleged improper use of physical restraints.
The family of one patient, Joshua K. Messier, who died in 2009, received a $3 million settlement from the state and a private mental health company.
A settlement reached in 2014 following the class action lawsuit called for a drastic reduction in the use of physical restraints and solitary confinement at Bridgewater, restricting such measures for emergencies only.
Leslie Walker, a lawyer and executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services Massachusetts, said Bridgewater has long been understaffed and does not have enough mental health clinicians.
But the state does have hundreds of millions for profitable GE and other corporations.
--more--"
So what was this guy's story?
"Bridgewater inmate allegedly attempted suicide 3 times before death" by Jan Ransom Globe Staff April 14, 2016
In the weeks leading up to his death, Leo Marino, an inmate at Bridgewater State Hospital, tried to kill himself three times, according to his brother and attorney.
Marino had slit his wrists, swallowed wet toilet paper, and tried to hang himself with a sheet, Joe Marino and attorney Alfred Farese Jr. told the Globe. He had been on suicide watch when prison officials found him unresponsive in his cell at 7:35 p.m. on April 8, according to Joe Marino and Farese. He died an hour later at Morton Hospital in Taunton, officials said.
Joe Marino wants to know why his suicidal, mentally ill 43-year-old brother wasn’t monitored more closely; meanwhile, Marino’s death has led mental health advocates to renew calls to reform Bridgewater State Hospital and ask what happened to plans to revamp the troubled facility.
Marino, a father of two teenage boys, suffered from mental illness, his brother said. Court records show he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and struggled with substance abuse that included cocaine and prescription drugs. He also had a history of suicide attempts, according to court documents.
In 2011, Marino told a doctor that he had religious visions and that God spoke to him.
In the fall of 2015, while being held in Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton on charges that he assaulted his fiancee, Marino tried to kill himself several times, his brother said. He was admitted to Bridgewater State Hospital on Oct. 13 for observation, according to correction officials.
Marino was then civilly committed to Bridgewater, a medium security prison that houses mentally ill inmates, on Jan. 28, after he was found incompetent to stand trial on the assault charges. He was also facing charges in Newburyport District Court of driving under the influence of drugs and possession of a controlled substance.
By the time he was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital in the fall, his mental health had badly deteriorated, according to his brother. Jail officials in Middleton had refused to allow Marino to take Klonopin, a drug he had been prescribed to treat panic disorders and anxiety. Officials at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jail, could not be reached Thursday.
In March, Marino spent more than 250 hours in seclusion at Bridgewater, according to Roderick MacLeish Jr., an attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Bridgewater inmates in 2014.
Officials at Bridgewater had allowed Marino to again take Klonopin, but his mental state continued to deteriorate, Joe Marino said. According to Farese, Marino’s lawyer, his client was preparing to receive electroconvulsive therapy and was not taking Klonopin at the time of his death.
I was told shock therapy is supposed to be good for you.
Hours before Marino’s death, he sat across from his brother and his attorney. Joe Marino told his brother that his family loved him and they needed him to be strong.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Joe Marino said his brother told him. “The pain is too great.”
Before he left, Joe Marino said, he begged prison officials to keep an eye on his brother.
Marino’s death has reignited discussions about mental health treatment for inmates at Bridgewater. Mental health advocates, who pushed for sweeping changes following the deaths of three men at the facility between 2009 and 2013, say legislators punted on proposed reforms two years ago and have done nothing since.
WHAT??!!
Governor Deval Patrick’s $12.3 million plan called for increased staffing, including 130 full-time mental health clinicians and a new facility where potentially violent inmates be treated in a secure setting.
Yeah, I remember. Big announcement!
Correction officials had sought $10 million to boost staffing and enhance training, but lawmakers approved only $1.8 million in new funding and said they needed to study the issue further, according to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
“In the end nothing was done,” said Christine M. Griffin, executive director of the Disability Law Center Inc. “There’s been a lot of silence.”
Let me break that by saying it looks criminal to me.
Mental health advocates said they plan to take their fight to improve Bridgewater to Governor Charlie Baker’s office.
“The Baker-Polito Administration recognizes the challenges at Bridgewater State Hospital and is working on a strategy to ensure that the quality of care and level of safety patients receive there matches what they would receive at any mental health facility,” said Felix Browne, spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
MacLeish said he met with Baker’s chief legal counsel in May to discuss Bridgewater. That same month, he sent a letter to Attorney General Maura Healey stating that “the rights of the severely mentally ill continue to be abused,” he said.
“The state locks up someone without meds, without the proper therapy and counseling, and puts them in solitude and doesn’t realize that’s going to kill them,” said Joe Marino, who was planning his brother’s funeral. “The system failed him. He should have got the help he needed so he could live.”
Thankfully, the $y$tem doesn't fail others.
--more--"
What a mess, huh?
Any charges (never mind convictions) will be difficult to obtain, and all you are left with is a tombstone.
NDU: "Sandra Bland was found dead hanging from a garbage bag in her jail cell."
Jost thought I would toss that in here.
Also see: It’s time to fix Bridgewater State Hospital
Past time.
Bridgewater State Hospital overhaul remains unfunded
It breaks your heart, doesn't it?
Especially after I was told things were getting better at the state torture center, and now I find out it is as bad as ever after they pledged to do better.
"Man’s death at Bridgewater State Hospital probed" by Jan Ransom and John R. Ellement Globe Staff April 11, 2016
Authorities are investigating the death of a 43-year-old Lawrence man in his cell at Bridgewater State Hospital Friday night, the state Department of Correction said.
Correction officials found Leo Marino unresponsive at 7:35 p.m. and “immediately initiated full emergency response beginning with CPR,’’ spokesman Darren Duarte said in a statement on Monday.
Marino was taken by Bridgewater firefighters to Morton Hospital in Taunton, where he was pronounced dead at 8:33 p.m., Duarte said. He said the state medical examiner’s office will determine a cause of death.
No further information was released about Marino’s death, which is not considered suspicious.
Happens on occasion, no big deal.
State Police assigned to the Plymouth district attorney’s office are investigating, according to DA spokeswoman Beth Stone, who declined further comment.
I'm filled with loads of confidence.
The Lawrence man was admitted to Bridgewater State Hospital on Oct. 13 from the Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton for observation, according to the Correction Department.
Special report: Bridgewater State Hospital
He was facing charges out of Newburyport District Court for allegedly operating under the influence of drugs and possession of a controlled substance. He was also charged in Lawrence District Court with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and strangulation and suffocation.
Marino was civilly committed on Jan. 28 to the facility after he was found incompetent to stand trial in Essex Superior Court on the charges out of Lawrence.
Roderick MacLeish Jr., the attorney who filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Bridgewater inmates in 2014, said Marino had “significant mental illness” but did not elaborate.
Bridgewater State Hospital is a medium-security facility whose population is made up of men civilly committed because of a mental health issue, prison inmates sent to the hospital because of mental health issues, and pretrial detainees who are undergoing a mental health evaluation.
According to MacLeish, Marino spent more than 250 hours in seclusion last month.
That would drive you crazy.
The Department of Correction was unable to confirm that, but MacLeish said the length of time he spent in seclusion “raises troubling concerns.”
“Given the level of monitoring there is supposed to be, it’s difficult to see how this happened,” he said. “Was he being watched?”
Officials at Correction Department did not say whether Marino was supervised in the moments leading up to his death.
“The Department of Correction is undergoing a root cause analysis of this case as we do in any unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury at Bridgewater State Hospital,” Duarte said. “We hope to have all questions answered as soon as possible.”
MacLeish said Marino was in the Intensive Treatment Unit, which consists of 12 rooms behind locked steel doors where patients have limited privileges.
The area is monitored with surveillance cameras and staff check patients every 15 minutes.
Marino’s death follows that of at least three others at the embattled facility in which the patients died after the alleged improper use of physical restraints.
The family of one patient, Joshua K. Messier, who died in 2009, received a $3 million settlement from the state and a private mental health company.
A settlement reached in 2014 following the class action lawsuit called for a drastic reduction in the use of physical restraints and solitary confinement at Bridgewater, restricting such measures for emergencies only.
Leslie Walker, a lawyer and executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services Massachusetts, said Bridgewater has long been understaffed and does not have enough mental health clinicians.
But the state does have hundreds of millions for profitable GE and other corporations.
--more--"
So what was this guy's story?
"Bridgewater inmate allegedly attempted suicide 3 times before death" by Jan Ransom Globe Staff April 14, 2016
In the weeks leading up to his death, Leo Marino, an inmate at Bridgewater State Hospital, tried to kill himself three times, according to his brother and attorney.
Marino had slit his wrists, swallowed wet toilet paper, and tried to hang himself with a sheet, Joe Marino and attorney Alfred Farese Jr. told the Globe. He had been on suicide watch when prison officials found him unresponsive in his cell at 7:35 p.m. on April 8, according to Joe Marino and Farese. He died an hour later at Morton Hospital in Taunton, officials said.
Joe Marino wants to know why his suicidal, mentally ill 43-year-old brother wasn’t monitored more closely; meanwhile, Marino’s death has led mental health advocates to renew calls to reform Bridgewater State Hospital and ask what happened to plans to revamp the troubled facility.
Marino, a father of two teenage boys, suffered from mental illness, his brother said. Court records show he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and struggled with substance abuse that included cocaine and prescription drugs. He also had a history of suicide attempts, according to court documents.
In 2011, Marino told a doctor that he had religious visions and that God spoke to him.
In the fall of 2015, while being held in Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton on charges that he assaulted his fiancee, Marino tried to kill himself several times, his brother said. He was admitted to Bridgewater State Hospital on Oct. 13 for observation, according to correction officials.
Marino was then civilly committed to Bridgewater, a medium security prison that houses mentally ill inmates, on Jan. 28, after he was found incompetent to stand trial on the assault charges. He was also facing charges in Newburyport District Court of driving under the influence of drugs and possession of a controlled substance.
By the time he was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital in the fall, his mental health had badly deteriorated, according to his brother. Jail officials in Middleton had refused to allow Marino to take Klonopin, a drug he had been prescribed to treat panic disorders and anxiety. Officials at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jail, could not be reached Thursday.
In March, Marino spent more than 250 hours in seclusion at Bridgewater, according to Roderick MacLeish Jr., an attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Bridgewater inmates in 2014.
Officials at Bridgewater had allowed Marino to again take Klonopin, but his mental state continued to deteriorate, Joe Marino said. According to Farese, Marino’s lawyer, his client was preparing to receive electroconvulsive therapy and was not taking Klonopin at the time of his death.
I was told shock therapy is supposed to be good for you.
Hours before Marino’s death, he sat across from his brother and his attorney. Joe Marino told his brother that his family loved him and they needed him to be strong.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Joe Marino said his brother told him. “The pain is too great.”
Before he left, Joe Marino said, he begged prison officials to keep an eye on his brother.
Marino’s death has reignited discussions about mental health treatment for inmates at Bridgewater. Mental health advocates, who pushed for sweeping changes following the deaths of three men at the facility between 2009 and 2013, say legislators punted on proposed reforms two years ago and have done nothing since.
WHAT??!!
Governor Deval Patrick’s $12.3 million plan called for increased staffing, including 130 full-time mental health clinicians and a new facility where potentially violent inmates be treated in a secure setting.
Yeah, I remember. Big announcement!
Correction officials had sought $10 million to boost staffing and enhance training, but lawmakers approved only $1.8 million in new funding and said they needed to study the issue further, according to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
“In the end nothing was done,” said Christine M. Griffin, executive director of the Disability Law Center Inc. “There’s been a lot of silence.”
Let me break that by saying it looks criminal to me.
Mental health advocates said they plan to take their fight to improve Bridgewater to Governor Charlie Baker’s office.
“The Baker-Polito Administration recognizes the challenges at Bridgewater State Hospital and is working on a strategy to ensure that the quality of care and level of safety patients receive there matches what they would receive at any mental health facility,” said Felix Browne, spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
MacLeish said he met with Baker’s chief legal counsel in May to discuss Bridgewater. That same month, he sent a letter to Attorney General Maura Healey stating that “the rights of the severely mentally ill continue to be abused,” he said.
“The state locks up someone without meds, without the proper therapy and counseling, and puts them in solitude and doesn’t realize that’s going to kill them,” said Joe Marino, who was planning his brother’s funeral. “The system failed him. He should have got the help he needed so he could live.”
Thankfully, the $y$tem doesn't fail others.
--more--"
What a mess, huh?
Any charges (never mind convictions) will be difficult to obtain, and all you are left with is a tombstone.
NDU: "Sandra Bland was found dead hanging from a garbage bag in her jail cell."
Jost thought I would toss that in here.
Also see: It’s time to fix Bridgewater State Hospital
Past time.
Fine With Lies of Power
Turned over a new leaf I did!
"Power plant workers are said to have concealed pollution" by Katie Johnston Globe Staff March 30, 2016
First VW, now these guys!
The operators of a Western Massachusetts power plant have agreed to plead guilty and pay $8.5 million for tampering with air pollution monitoring equipment and reporting false data about emissions levels, US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced Wednesday.
That looks criminal, but thanks for the kickback. I gue$$ rates will be going up $oon.
Between January 2009 and March 2011, employees at Berkshire Power in Agawam manipulated the emissions monitoring system to conceal the fact that the plant was emitting an excess of pollutants.
Hey, why not? Government from the top on down does it.
The plant did this to avoid shutting down to make repairs needed to keep it within pollution limits, according to the Department of Justice.
A shutdown would have cut into the plant’s profits, prosecutors said.
And you would have had some angry residents without power?
The staff also lied about the plant’s availability to produce power for the New England grid, investigators found.
That's strong stuff coming from a source that regularly spews them.
Are you sure they didn't just mislead by mistake?
In doing so, the plant’s owner, Berkshire Power Co., and manager, Power Plant Management Services, violated the federal Clean Air Act. The management company also violated the Federal Power Act for lying to the regional power grid administrator — the first-ever criminal charges under the statute, according to the Department of Justice.
“The deliberate scheme Berkshire Power Plant management and staff undertook gave them an unfair competitive advantage over responsible companies and undermined a system that depends on honest data reporting,” Tyler Amon, special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal investigation division in Boston, said in a statement. “Maximizing profit to minimize the cost of controlling pollution is placing greed over protecting nearby communities.”
You guys should have gone into banking instead.
Some of the settlement money will go toward installing electric-vehicle charging stations in Massachusetts and funding an American Lung Association program to replace inefficient wood stoves with EPA-certified wood, gas, and pellet stoves....
Oh, it will be directed into further agenda-pu$hing cau$es and ideas.
--more--"
I'm not saying that's a bad thing per se, but you do have to consider who is promoting it.
Now about that cough....
"New England Journal of Medicine increasingly targeted by critics" by Charles Ornstein ProPublica April 05, 2016
The New England Journal of Medicine is arguably the best-known and most venerated medical journal in the world. Studies featured in its pages are cited more often, on average, than those of any of its peers. And the careers of young researchers can take off if their work is deemed worthy of appearing in it.
But following a series of well-publicized feuds with prominent medical researchers and former editors of the journal, some are questioning whether the publication is slipping in relevancy and reputation. The journal and its top editor, critics say, have resisted correcting errors and lag behind others in an industrywide push for more openness in research. And dissent has been dismissed with a paternalistic arrogance, they say.
It's subtle elite insult in the form of a new$paper though, so its okay.
“They basically have a view that . . . they don’t need to change or adapt. It’s their way or the highway,” said Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and chief academic officer at Scripps Health in La Jolla, Calif....
And we have all $een what has happened.
--more--"
The ties to the pharmaceutical industry present conflicts of interest?
That means they are as $elf-$erving as the financial services firms.
The next thing you know they will be telling us cholesterol and animal fats are good for you (for the purposes of dumping excess pork products and GMO corn that the world doesn't want, of course).
The lies are everywhere, folks.
Good thing they only cost about $5 billion or $o.
UPDATE: New evidence of the dangers of living near highways
"Power plant workers are said to have concealed pollution" by Katie Johnston Globe Staff March 30, 2016
First VW, now these guys!
The operators of a Western Massachusetts power plant have agreed to plead guilty and pay $8.5 million for tampering with air pollution monitoring equipment and reporting false data about emissions levels, US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced Wednesday.
That looks criminal, but thanks for the kickback. I gue$$ rates will be going up $oon.
Between January 2009 and March 2011, employees at Berkshire Power in Agawam manipulated the emissions monitoring system to conceal the fact that the plant was emitting an excess of pollutants.
Hey, why not? Government from the top on down does it.
The plant did this to avoid shutting down to make repairs needed to keep it within pollution limits, according to the Department of Justice.
A shutdown would have cut into the plant’s profits, prosecutors said.
And you would have had some angry residents without power?
The staff also lied about the plant’s availability to produce power for the New England grid, investigators found.
That's strong stuff coming from a source that regularly spews them.
Are you sure they didn't just mislead by mistake?
In doing so, the plant’s owner, Berkshire Power Co., and manager, Power Plant Management Services, violated the federal Clean Air Act. The management company also violated the Federal Power Act for lying to the regional power grid administrator — the first-ever criminal charges under the statute, according to the Department of Justice.
“The deliberate scheme Berkshire Power Plant management and staff undertook gave them an unfair competitive advantage over responsible companies and undermined a system that depends on honest data reporting,” Tyler Amon, special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal investigation division in Boston, said in a statement. “Maximizing profit to minimize the cost of controlling pollution is placing greed over protecting nearby communities.”
You guys should have gone into banking instead.
Some of the settlement money will go toward installing electric-vehicle charging stations in Massachusetts and funding an American Lung Association program to replace inefficient wood stoves with EPA-certified wood, gas, and pellet stoves....
Oh, it will be directed into further agenda-pu$hing cau$es and ideas.
--more--"
I'm not saying that's a bad thing per se, but you do have to consider who is promoting it.
Now about that cough....
"New England Journal of Medicine increasingly targeted by critics" by Charles Ornstein ProPublica April 05, 2016
The New England Journal of Medicine is arguably the best-known and most venerated medical journal in the world. Studies featured in its pages are cited more often, on average, than those of any of its peers. And the careers of young researchers can take off if their work is deemed worthy of appearing in it.
But following a series of well-publicized feuds with prominent medical researchers and former editors of the journal, some are questioning whether the publication is slipping in relevancy and reputation. The journal and its top editor, critics say, have resisted correcting errors and lag behind others in an industrywide push for more openness in research. And dissent has been dismissed with a paternalistic arrogance, they say.
It's subtle elite insult in the form of a new$paper though, so its okay.
“They basically have a view that . . . they don’t need to change or adapt. It’s their way or the highway,” said Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and chief academic officer at Scripps Health in La Jolla, Calif....
And we have all $een what has happened.
--more--"
The ties to the pharmaceutical industry present conflicts of interest?
That means they are as $elf-$erving as the financial services firms.
The next thing you know they will be telling us cholesterol and animal fats are good for you (for the purposes of dumping excess pork products and GMO corn that the world doesn't want, of course).
The lies are everywhere, folks.
Good thing they only cost about $5 billion or $o.
UPDATE: New evidence of the dangers of living near highways
The Lyons of HubSpot
See: Globe Breakfast Hits the HubSpot
Not anymore.
"HubSpot book is unflattering portrait of Cambridge company" by Curt Woodward Globe Staff March 22, 2016
The book that prompted an ethics scandal at HubSpot Inc. months before publication is about to be released, and it’s an unflattering portrait of the Cambridge software company as a hard-driving workplace full of old-fashioned office politics and backstabbing.
But “Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble” doesn’t offer up any bombshells about employees’ personal lives or corporate dirty tricks. And that’s sure to raise even more questions about why company officials allegedly went to extreme lengths to pursue a draft before the book was published.
“Disrupted,” set to hit stores in April, is the work of Dan Lyons, a Winchester-based author and longtime journalist who has written for the HBO series “Silicon Valley.” The book chronicles his roughly 18 months working at HubSpot as a “marketing fellow,” a job that, in Lyons’s retelling, didn’t turn out how it was advertised.
Lyons’s book became the subject of intense speculation in late July when HubSpot abruptly announced that it had fired its chief marketing officer, Mike Volpe, for violating the company’s ethics policy “in connection with attempts to procure a draft manuscript of a book involving the company.”
HubSpot also said a vice president, Joe Chernov, resigned before the company could determine whether he also should be fired. Chief executive Brian Halligan was fined for failing to promptly alert the company’s board after finding out about the incident.
HubSpot turned the results of its internal investigation over to federal authorities, who opened a criminal investigation that involved an FBI cybercrime agent....
What kind of hacker are they employing these days?
--more--"
You know, “we figure we’re safe when we use online services. We figure we can trust the people who run them not to snoop on us. I used to believe that. I don’t anymore.”
I used to believe a lot of things coming from my government and its pre$$.
"Extortion, hacking claims sparked HubSpot investigation, FBI records show" by Curt Woodward Globe Staff March 24, 2016
The now-closed investigation into an ethics scandal at HubSpot Inc. was sparked by allegations that federal authorities received of “multiple failed attempts to manipulate and extort people” that were aimed at stopping publication of a book about the company, documents show.
Like the federal government would know anything about ethics.
C'mon!
Records released by the FBI in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Globe include memos explaining the agency’s reason for opening an investigation. They also includes notes of an interview with Dan Lyons, a Winchester author and former HubSpot employee whose forthcoming book about his experiences at the startup triggered the events leading to the investigation.
However, they do not include any records indicating why federal authorities declined to prosecute anyone.
The documents are redacted in many places and do not identify anyone involved in what is described as an alleged plot to “railroad” Lyons’s book, “Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble.”
The US attorney’s office in Boston declined to comment Wednesday....
--more--"
Related: HubSpot executives respond to book that mocked company
Not anymore.
"HubSpot book is unflattering portrait of Cambridge company" by Curt Woodward Globe Staff March 22, 2016
The book that prompted an ethics scandal at HubSpot Inc. months before publication is about to be released, and it’s an unflattering portrait of the Cambridge software company as a hard-driving workplace full of old-fashioned office politics and backstabbing.
But “Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble” doesn’t offer up any bombshells about employees’ personal lives or corporate dirty tricks. And that’s sure to raise even more questions about why company officials allegedly went to extreme lengths to pursue a draft before the book was published.
“Disrupted,” set to hit stores in April, is the work of Dan Lyons, a Winchester-based author and longtime journalist who has written for the HBO series “Silicon Valley.” The book chronicles his roughly 18 months working at HubSpot as a “marketing fellow,” a job that, in Lyons’s retelling, didn’t turn out how it was advertised.
Lyons’s book became the subject of intense speculation in late July when HubSpot abruptly announced that it had fired its chief marketing officer, Mike Volpe, for violating the company’s ethics policy “in connection with attempts to procure a draft manuscript of a book involving the company.”
HubSpot also said a vice president, Joe Chernov, resigned before the company could determine whether he also should be fired. Chief executive Brian Halligan was fined for failing to promptly alert the company’s board after finding out about the incident.
HubSpot turned the results of its internal investigation over to federal authorities, who opened a criminal investigation that involved an FBI cybercrime agent....
What kind of hacker are they employing these days?
--more--"
You know, “we figure we’re safe when we use online services. We figure we can trust the people who run them not to snoop on us. I used to believe that. I don’t anymore.”
I used to believe a lot of things coming from my government and its pre$$.
"Extortion, hacking claims sparked HubSpot investigation, FBI records show" by Curt Woodward Globe Staff March 24, 2016
The now-closed investigation into an ethics scandal at HubSpot Inc. was sparked by allegations that federal authorities received of “multiple failed attempts to manipulate and extort people” that were aimed at stopping publication of a book about the company, documents show.
Like the federal government would know anything about ethics.
C'mon!
Records released by the FBI in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Globe include memos explaining the agency’s reason for opening an investigation. They also includes notes of an interview with Dan Lyons, a Winchester author and former HubSpot employee whose forthcoming book about his experiences at the startup triggered the events leading to the investigation.
However, they do not include any records indicating why federal authorities declined to prosecute anyone.
The documents are redacted in many places and do not identify anyone involved in what is described as an alleged plot to “railroad” Lyons’s book, “Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble.”
The US attorney’s office in Boston declined to comment Wednesday....
--more--"
Related: HubSpot executives respond to book that mocked company
Monday, April 18, 2016
Marathon Monday
Going to be more like a sprint....
On eve of Marathon, a festive atmosphere in Copley Square
Forget the fear for a day, it's been a festive weekend.
Kasich counts on 2nd-place finishes to launch him into contention
No comment.
Why Vt. maple producers are afraid of this company
I've gone sour on the sweeteners, sorry.
Polio vaccine ‘switch’ is not without risks
You take one every time you let them put a needle in you.
Do you you really know what is in there?
Who told you what it was?
Harvard critic faces scrutiny on donations
Harvard still has a race problem.
Immigrants, the poor, and minorities gain sharply under health act
Yup, Obummercare is such a success, according to the New York Times -- meaning the opposite is the truth.
Already sick off the page A2 lead.
Pennsylvania launches 24th US medical marijuana program
They must be smoking something.
Chicago union says clock has started toward teachers’ strike
College student removed from flight after speaking Arabic
The Zionist war propaganda and Islamophobia campaign has worked to the hilt on the American mind -- but have a festive Marathon.
Medicare’s ‘Innovation Center’ rebalancing quality and cost
Yeah, this lying, corrupt, war-making government that serves money is looking after you.
Now I'm on the side of the road puking.
Alabama officer shot; suspect dead after chase
#BLM?
Earthquake in Ecuador kills at least 272
I noticed the one in Pakistan didn't get as much attention.
Myanmar’s new president pledges to free political prisoners
Can a puppet do that?
Thousands join Brussels ‘march against hate’
I love it when agenda-pushing war papers cover controlled-opposition peace protests.
Iran vows to defend Muslim nations against terrorism, Israel
Someone has to.
Brazil’s president loses critical impeachment vote
A soft coup in Brazil; who would have thunk it?
Between the rigged elections and everything else down there, South America has turned right and north.
US joins earthquake relief efforts in Japan
How fortunate that US troops can now be moved into place.
What up at Fukushima these days anyway?
Israel will never give Golan Heights to Syria, Netanyahu vows
Where does one begin?
I suppose it is acceptable for a few chosen countries to invade and annex land. For others throughout history, that has been problem. They bad guys.
I also noted that Kerry has to clear the Syrian peace deal being negotiated by world powers through Israel and Netanyahu. What more do you need to know regarding who is calling the shots on this planet?
I'll tell you one thing: While there is no doubt the AmeriKan government is the world's greatest war criminal and mass-murder by extent, the Israeli government that is its master is the more odious regime of the two.
60 migrants rescued at sea by Spain
Obama's war refugees (sprinkled with terrorists) keep on coming, huh?
GOP official decries talk of allowing a new presidential candidate
It's the screw Trump campaign, and who gives a shit?
How do you know Trump is all part of the big Zionist show and production filled with deceit and deception? Ron Paul never got this much pre$$.
As for the other insurgent (haven't seen that word used much to describe either one lately) outsider:
Bernie Sanders courts black voters at Harlem church
He doesn't have a prayer.
Targeting a law that protects the gun industry
‘Confirmation’ — A cautionary tale for a new generation
Didn't watch it. Didn't need to. I lived through it.
Keeping a lid on drug prices
Nice try.
Children left out of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
I'm leaving a lot of things out today.
At 80, she is determined to break a record at the Marathon
More than halfway home now.
Harpoon president leaves Harvard club role amid criticism
Harvard still has a gender problem.
Trove of Curley photos come home to JP
Sydelle Pittas, 71; served as an inspiration to female lawyers
Runners, friends eat up atmosphere at Marathon pasta dinner
Those crisis drills gone live with Craft International goons piggybacking a bomb on top is just as believable.
What's with the festiveness on such a somber occasion?
State seeks to help those with hearing woes from Marathon bombings
What?
T pension fund continuing fight to keep records secret
Three developments for three Boston train stations
Almost the end of the line!
Baker speech was a lost chance to find common ground
I didn't know T cars had toilets.
Crude prices slide as producers fail to agree on oil-output limits
I needed to lube you up for this:
"Trust in the news media is being eroded by perceptions of inaccuracy and bias, fueled in part by Americans’ skepticism about what they read on social media. Just 6 percent of respondents in a poll had a lot of confidence in the media, putting the news industry about equal to Congress. Democrats were more likely to trust the media than Republicans or independents. But trust goes beyond the traditional principles of accuracy, balance, and fairness. Faced with ever-increasing sources of information, Americans also are more likely to rely on news that is up-to-date, concise, and cites expert sources or documents, according to a study by the Media Insight Project, a partnership of the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute. They want to be able to navigate the news app or website easily, without having to wade through ads. ‘‘The skill set that journalists have to master is bigger,’’ said Tom Rosenstiel of the American Press Institute, because expectations have increased. But the poll shows accuracy is clearly the most important component. Nearly 90 percent said it’s extremely or very important the media get the facts correct. African-Americans, Hispanics, and people following stories about crime and public safety are particularly likely to say it’s very important to see their communities and people who look like them represented in reporting. About 6 in 10 Americans watch, read, or hear news several times a day. A majority get news from social media, most frequently by far from Facebook. Yet only 12 percent of those who use Facebook say they have a lot of trust in the information on the site. Twitter attracts smaller numbers for news than Facebook, and about 18 percent have a good deal of trust in what they see. The poll of 2,014 adults was done Feb. 18 to March 21. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 2.9 points."
I almost missed that, and can you see why I'm calling it quits?
Rather than drop any names, I would suggest you start at the beginning and run a real marathon.
NEXT DAY LEGS:
The new normal on Marathon Monday
Ugh! The "new normal."
Mood is jubilant as spectators line the Marathon route
Marathon films shoot scenes on Marathon Monday
To ‘captures the spirit of the race.’
History comes on horseback in Lexington
I'm tired of "play war" presented out of context.
Brazil president faces fading chances to maintain power
Death toll from Ecuador quake rises to 413
US military airlifts food, supplies as rescue work continues in Japan
I'm done monkeying around with that.
Obama to send more special forces to Iraq; military advisers to move closer to front lines
It's not Globe satire, folks.
There are hepatitis C drugs, but patients often can’t get them
That was when I cramped up.
UPDATE:
New York Times to invest in international digital audience to expand and increase revenue outside the United States
As if the world wants to read their lies.
On eve of Marathon, a festive atmosphere in Copley Square
Forget the fear for a day, it's been a festive weekend.
Kasich counts on 2nd-place finishes to launch him into contention
No comment.
Why Vt. maple producers are afraid of this company
I've gone sour on the sweeteners, sorry.
Polio vaccine ‘switch’ is not without risks
You take one every time you let them put a needle in you.
Do you you really know what is in there?
Who told you what it was?
Harvard critic faces scrutiny on donations
Harvard still has a race problem.
Immigrants, the poor, and minorities gain sharply under health act
Yup, Obummercare is such a success, according to the New York Times -- meaning the opposite is the truth.
Already sick off the page A2 lead.
Pennsylvania launches 24th US medical marijuana program
They must be smoking something.
Chicago union says clock has started toward teachers’ strike
College student removed from flight after speaking Arabic
The Zionist war propaganda and Islamophobia campaign has worked to the hilt on the American mind -- but have a festive Marathon.
Medicare’s ‘Innovation Center’ rebalancing quality and cost
Yeah, this lying, corrupt, war-making government that serves money is looking after you.
Now I'm on the side of the road puking.
Alabama officer shot; suspect dead after chase
#BLM?
Earthquake in Ecuador kills at least 272
I noticed the one in Pakistan didn't get as much attention.
Myanmar’s new president pledges to free political prisoners
Can a puppet do that?
Thousands join Brussels ‘march against hate’
I love it when agenda-pushing war papers cover controlled-opposition peace protests.
Iran vows to defend Muslim nations against terrorism, Israel
Someone has to.
Brazil’s president loses critical impeachment vote
A soft coup in Brazil; who would have thunk it?
Between the rigged elections and everything else down there, South America has turned right and north.
US joins earthquake relief efforts in Japan
How fortunate that US troops can now be moved into place.
What up at Fukushima these days anyway?
Israel will never give Golan Heights to Syria, Netanyahu vows
Where does one begin?
I suppose it is acceptable for a few chosen countries to invade and annex land. For others throughout history, that has been problem. They bad guys.
I also noted that Kerry has to clear the Syrian peace deal being negotiated by world powers through Israel and Netanyahu. What more do you need to know regarding who is calling the shots on this planet?
I'll tell you one thing: While there is no doubt the AmeriKan government is the world's greatest war criminal and mass-murder by extent, the Israeli government that is its master is the more odious regime of the two.
60 migrants rescued at sea by Spain
Obama's war refugees (sprinkled with terrorists) keep on coming, huh?
GOP official decries talk of allowing a new presidential candidate
It's the screw Trump campaign, and who gives a shit?
How do you know Trump is all part of the big Zionist show and production filled with deceit and deception? Ron Paul never got this much pre$$.
As for the other insurgent (haven't seen that word used much to describe either one lately) outsider:
Bernie Sanders courts black voters at Harlem church
He doesn't have a prayer.
Targeting a law that protects the gun industry
‘Confirmation’ — A cautionary tale for a new generation
Didn't watch it. Didn't need to. I lived through it.
Keeping a lid on drug prices
Nice try.
Children left out of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
I'm leaving a lot of things out today.
At 80, she is determined to break a record at the Marathon
More than halfway home now.
Harpoon president leaves Harvard club role amid criticism
Harvard still has a gender problem.
Trove of Curley photos come home to JP
Sydelle Pittas, 71; served as an inspiration to female lawyers
Runners, friends eat up atmosphere at Marathon pasta dinner
Those crisis drills gone live with Craft International goons piggybacking a bomb on top is just as believable.
What's with the festiveness on such a somber occasion?
State seeks to help those with hearing woes from Marathon bombings
What?
T pension fund continuing fight to keep records secret
Three developments for three Boston train stations
Almost the end of the line!
Baker speech was a lost chance to find common ground
I didn't know T cars had toilets.
Crude prices slide as producers fail to agree on oil-output limits
I needed to lube you up for this:
"Trust in the news media is being eroded by perceptions of inaccuracy and bias, fueled in part by Americans’ skepticism about what they read on social media. Just 6 percent of respondents in a poll had a lot of confidence in the media, putting the news industry about equal to Congress. Democrats were more likely to trust the media than Republicans or independents. But trust goes beyond the traditional principles of accuracy, balance, and fairness. Faced with ever-increasing sources of information, Americans also are more likely to rely on news that is up-to-date, concise, and cites expert sources or documents, according to a study by the Media Insight Project, a partnership of the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute. They want to be able to navigate the news app or website easily, without having to wade through ads. ‘‘The skill set that journalists have to master is bigger,’’ said Tom Rosenstiel of the American Press Institute, because expectations have increased. But the poll shows accuracy is clearly the most important component. Nearly 90 percent said it’s extremely or very important the media get the facts correct. African-Americans, Hispanics, and people following stories about crime and public safety are particularly likely to say it’s very important to see their communities and people who look like them represented in reporting. About 6 in 10 Americans watch, read, or hear news several times a day. A majority get news from social media, most frequently by far from Facebook. Yet only 12 percent of those who use Facebook say they have a lot of trust in the information on the site. Twitter attracts smaller numbers for news than Facebook, and about 18 percent have a good deal of trust in what they see. The poll of 2,014 adults was done Feb. 18 to March 21. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 2.9 points."
I almost missed that, and can you see why I'm calling it quits?
Rather than drop any names, I would suggest you start at the beginning and run a real marathon.
NEXT DAY LEGS:
The new normal on Marathon Monday
Ugh! The "new normal."
Mood is jubilant as spectators line the Marathon route
Marathon films shoot scenes on Marathon Monday
To ‘captures the spirit of the race.’
History comes on horseback in Lexington
I'm tired of "play war" presented out of context.
Brazil president faces fading chances to maintain power
Death toll from Ecuador quake rises to 413
US military airlifts food, supplies as rescue work continues in Japan
I'm done monkeying around with that.
Obama to send more special forces to Iraq; military advisers to move closer to front lines
It's not Globe satire, folks.
There are hepatitis C drugs, but patients often can’t get them
That was when I cramped up.
UPDATE:
New York Times to invest in international digital audience to expand and increase revenue outside the United States
As if the world wants to read their lies.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Sunday Globes at a Glance
The cup of coffee smelt bad today, so....
"Here is the intersection of law and broken humanity, where so much police work happens, and where the things people say — furious, sad, threatening, profane, sometimes unintentionally hilarious — are its gritty transcript. Officers spend long stretches watching, waiting, sometimes not doing a whole lot of anything."
"[He] sponged down sinks, scrubbed toilets, and polished mirrors, pushing a yellow cart loaded with a mop, broom, and cleaning supplies."
So did I.
The recently deceased force of nature is paired with a long-dead demon who keeps getting dug up. Found him in the Pacific this time, hiding out on a remote island still under Japanese occupation.
"The United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France — have veto power over the candidates. That will not change, but...."
He's a powerless nobody anyway, and serves no purpose other than public relations.
The ugliness hit a sour note right from the start, and alarm bells went off when I saw the talk of nuclear war with Russia and China. At least you know where Ash Carter and Obama are taking you. All part of the global chessboard I suppose, as the immigrants arrive in Pintos. At least they are holding down a couple of jobs.
Well, looks like it is time to start rowing and get out of here.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
Success of ‘Neapolitan Novels’ stranger than fiction
I closed the book on it because it is fiction.
"Here is the intersection of law and broken humanity, where so much police work happens, and where the things people say — furious, sad, threatening, profane, sometimes unintentionally hilarious — are its gritty transcript. Officers spend long stretches watching, waiting, sometimes not doing a whole lot of anything."
"[He] sponged down sinks, scrubbed toilets, and polished mirrors, pushing a yellow cart loaded with a mop, broom, and cleaning supplies."
So did I.
The recently deceased force of nature is paired with a long-dead demon who keeps getting dug up. Found him in the Pacific this time, hiding out on a remote island still under Japanese occupation.
"The United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France — have veto power over the candidates. That will not change, but...."
He's a powerless nobody anyway, and serves no purpose other than public relations.
The ugliness hit a sour note right from the start, and alarm bells went off when I saw the talk of nuclear war with Russia and China. At least you know where Ash Carter and Obama are taking you. All part of the global chessboard I suppose, as the immigrants arrive in Pintos. At least they are holding down a couple of jobs.
Well, looks like it is time to start rowing and get out of here.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
Success of ‘Neapolitan Novels’ stranger than fiction
I closed the book on it because it is fiction.
Sunday Globe Special: The Other AIG
"In the world of creationism, any counterfactual is taken to be evidence in the creationists’ favor. When the science complements AiG’s interpretation of the Bible, the science is right. When it challenges it, the science is wrong. What is never wrong, though, is the Bible, according to one article on AiG’s website.
“I got a joke for you,” says Les, a lanky, cheerful, old man taking tickets at the main hall’s entrance, to the right of the massive lobby display depicting humans and dinosaurs existing together. “What kind of lights did Noah have on the ark?” He doesn’t give me time to guess. “Flood lights!”
Les has all kinds of jokes that he has picked up from visitors over the years. Les tells me another joke about a man whose mother-in-law died during a family vacation to Israel. The man is told he can ship the body home for $5,000 or bury her for $50 in the Holy Land. When he responds he’ll pay the money to ship her home, the doctor asks him why. “A man was buried here 2,000 years ago and came back to life” he explains, “I just can’t take that chance.”
The jokes are corny, but Les’s laughter is contagious...."
Just not funny anymore, sorry, and watch were you step when you leave.
"With this rigatoni, I thee wed: The first Rastafarian wedding" by Nick Perry Associated Press April 16, 2016
AKAROA, New Zealand — The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which began in the US as a protest against religion encroaching into public schools, has gained legitimacy in New Zealand, where authorities recently decided it can officiate weddings.
Saturday’s ceremony was all about having fun. The guests came dressed as pirates and shouted plenty of hearty ‘‘Aaarrrghs.’’ The church claims that global warming is caused by pirates vanishing from the high seas, and that there is a beer volcano in heaven.
The church has been battling to gain legal recognition around the world, with mixed success. It was formed in 2005 as a way to poke fun at efforts in Kansas public schools to teach not only evolution, but also ‘‘intelligent design’’ — the idea that the universe must have had a creator.
Church founder Bobby Henderson said in an e-mail that he thought it was odd that most weddings still have such an entanglement between religion and government....
Time to disentangle, 'er, divorce myself from this slop.
--more--"
The joke smells rotten to me now, sorry.
Related: Inky the octopus slithers free from New Zealand aquarium tank
Also see: New England Aquarium has its own octopus escape story
And then there is that Jesus fellow who rose from the dead and escaped a cave.
“I got a joke for you,” says Les, a lanky, cheerful, old man taking tickets at the main hall’s entrance, to the right of the massive lobby display depicting humans and dinosaurs existing together. “What kind of lights did Noah have on the ark?” He doesn’t give me time to guess. “Flood lights!”
Les has all kinds of jokes that he has picked up from visitors over the years. Les tells me another joke about a man whose mother-in-law died during a family vacation to Israel. The man is told he can ship the body home for $5,000 or bury her for $50 in the Holy Land. When he responds he’ll pay the money to ship her home, the doctor asks him why. “A man was buried here 2,000 years ago and came back to life” he explains, “I just can’t take that chance.”
The jokes are corny, but Les’s laughter is contagious...."
Just not funny anymore, sorry, and watch were you step when you leave.
"With this rigatoni, I thee wed: The first Rastafarian wedding" by Nick Perry Associated Press April 16, 2016
AKAROA, New Zealand — The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which began in the US as a protest against religion encroaching into public schools, has gained legitimacy in New Zealand, where authorities recently decided it can officiate weddings.
Saturday’s ceremony was all about having fun. The guests came dressed as pirates and shouted plenty of hearty ‘‘Aaarrrghs.’’ The church claims that global warming is caused by pirates vanishing from the high seas, and that there is a beer volcano in heaven.
The church has been battling to gain legal recognition around the world, with mixed success. It was formed in 2005 as a way to poke fun at efforts in Kansas public schools to teach not only evolution, but also ‘‘intelligent design’’ — the idea that the universe must have had a creator.
Church founder Bobby Henderson said in an e-mail that he thought it was odd that most weddings still have such an entanglement between religion and government....
Time to disentangle, 'er, divorce myself from this slop.
--more--"
The joke smells rotten to me now, sorry.
Related: Inky the octopus slithers free from New Zealand aquarium tank
Also see: New England Aquarium has its own octopus escape story
And then there is that Jesus fellow who rose from the dead and escaped a cave.
Sunday Globe Special: The V.I.P. Room at Brigham
Enjoy your stay:
"Was patient with apparent ties to royalty worth breaking hospital protocols?" by Liz Kowalczyk Globe Staff April 03, 2016
The new patient had apparent ties to Middle Eastern royalty, and brought along a personal chef and an entourage of seven attendants. This, by itself, is not unheard of in the cost-is-no-object world of VIP medicine, in which elite hospitals in Boston and other cities accommodate wealthy patients, some from distant lands, who can afford the full tab for care — and for premium amenities like deluxe rooms that cost up to $800 a day more than regular ones.
Commonly addressed as a prince, the patient also seemed to arrive in 2014 with some definite ideas about how he wanted to be treated, and Brigham staff tried hard to please him even when that ran afoul of hospital policies. It’s a phenomenon common enough that it has a name — VIP syndrome — and hospitals across the country, even as they relish the extra revenue from treating such patients, have had to work hard to avoid its side effects.
In the case of the Brigham and the prince, there were many.
The embarrassing episode is a vivid example of what can happen when administrators, doctors, and nurses veer from their usual clinical judgment and behavior because of a patient’s special status and demands. The term VIP syndrome is believed to have been coined in 1964 by Dr. Walter Weintraub, who wrote that his Maryland psychiatric hospital was thrown into turmoil when staff struggled to respond to the relentless requests of influential patients and their relatives.
Leaders at the Cleveland Clinic said the problem may be more pronounced today because of the rise in medical tourism, with celebrities, royalty, and political leaders willing to travel far and pay whatever it costs to obtain the best care. It requires constant vigilance by staff and administrators, they said, to resist pressures to change usual clinical wisdom and practices — though high-profile patients are not the only ones who can be demanding.
Not all international patients are wealthy, and hospital trustees, prominent physicians, and community leaders also can be VIP patients. Former Boston mayor Thomas Menino was treated for cancer at the Brigham Pavilion.
The prince was originally admitted to the hospital in 2012. He returned in 2014 for surgery, accompanied by a chef, a personal physician, six attendants, some of whom identified themselves as nurses, and a “helper/cleaner,’’ the health department report said.
He had two rooms in the Pavilion, which offers concierge services, in-room offices, and gourmet food. The surcharge is $300 to $800 per night in addition to the normal cost of a hospital room and medical care.
The prince slept during the day and stayed awake at nights, sometimes sending out for buffets of food, other times leaving to stay at a nice hotel. He was dispensed large amounts of prescribed narcotics, which some nurses were uncomfortable with, said the two people familiar with the situation.
Dr. Robert Klitzman, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center, said VIP syndrome emerged as a theme when he interviewed physicians for his 2008 book “When Doctors Become Patients.” Many were treated as high-profile patients in their own hospitals, leading to benefits such as expedited care in the emergency room and direct access to specialists. But their status also hurt care at times, such as when caregivers skipped prostate exams because they were embarrassed. It was also hard for prominent doctors to keep their medical condition private.
Klitzman said when a celebrity or member of royalty is admitted to the hospital, the typical relationship between doctor and patient can be turned on its head. “Normally a doctor has authority and professional expertise. Celebrities are viewed as gods. If you have a celebrity, you are a mere doctor.’’
At least you know the pecking order.
--more--"
I don't see the problem. The global elite and wealth can buy what we can't. Been that way forever, and who would want to change it?
UPDATE:
"As one of Massachusetts’ most prestigious hospitals becomes increasingly popular with wealthier patients from around the country and the globe...."
Related:
Hospital Dispute Heads to Court
Boston Medical Center to pay $1.1 million to resolve fraud charges
"Was patient with apparent ties to royalty worth breaking hospital protocols?" by Liz Kowalczyk Globe Staff April 03, 2016
The new patient had apparent ties to Middle Eastern royalty, and brought along a personal chef and an entourage of seven attendants. This, by itself, is not unheard of in the cost-is-no-object world of VIP medicine, in which elite hospitals in Boston and other cities accommodate wealthy patients, some from distant lands, who can afford the full tab for care — and for premium amenities like deluxe rooms that cost up to $800 a day more than regular ones.
Commonly addressed as a prince, the patient also seemed to arrive in 2014 with some definite ideas about how he wanted to be treated, and Brigham staff tried hard to please him even when that ran afoul of hospital policies. It’s a phenomenon common enough that it has a name — VIP syndrome — and hospitals across the country, even as they relish the extra revenue from treating such patients, have had to work hard to avoid its side effects.
In the case of the Brigham and the prince, there were many.
The embarrassing episode is a vivid example of what can happen when administrators, doctors, and nurses veer from their usual clinical judgment and behavior because of a patient’s special status and demands. The term VIP syndrome is believed to have been coined in 1964 by Dr. Walter Weintraub, who wrote that his Maryland psychiatric hospital was thrown into turmoil when staff struggled to respond to the relentless requests of influential patients and their relatives.
Leaders at the Cleveland Clinic said the problem may be more pronounced today because of the rise in medical tourism, with celebrities, royalty, and political leaders willing to travel far and pay whatever it costs to obtain the best care. It requires constant vigilance by staff and administrators, they said, to resist pressures to change usual clinical wisdom and practices — though high-profile patients are not the only ones who can be demanding.
Not all international patients are wealthy, and hospital trustees, prominent physicians, and community leaders also can be VIP patients. Former Boston mayor Thomas Menino was treated for cancer at the Brigham Pavilion.
The prince was originally admitted to the hospital in 2012. He returned in 2014 for surgery, accompanied by a chef, a personal physician, six attendants, some of whom identified themselves as nurses, and a “helper/cleaner,’’ the health department report said.
He had two rooms in the Pavilion, which offers concierge services, in-room offices, and gourmet food. The surcharge is $300 to $800 per night in addition to the normal cost of a hospital room and medical care.
The prince slept during the day and stayed awake at nights, sometimes sending out for buffets of food, other times leaving to stay at a nice hotel. He was dispensed large amounts of prescribed narcotics, which some nurses were uncomfortable with, said the two people familiar with the situation.
Dr. Robert Klitzman, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center, said VIP syndrome emerged as a theme when he interviewed physicians for his 2008 book “When Doctors Become Patients.” Many were treated as high-profile patients in their own hospitals, leading to benefits such as expedited care in the emergency room and direct access to specialists. But their status also hurt care at times, such as when caregivers skipped prostate exams because they were embarrassed. It was also hard for prominent doctors to keep their medical condition private.
Klitzman said when a celebrity or member of royalty is admitted to the hospital, the typical relationship between doctor and patient can be turned on its head. “Normally a doctor has authority and professional expertise. Celebrities are viewed as gods. If you have a celebrity, you are a mere doctor.’’
At least you know the pecking order.
--more--"
I don't see the problem. The global elite and wealth can buy what we can't. Been that way forever, and who would want to change it?
UPDATE:
"As one of Massachusetts’ most prestigious hospitals becomes increasingly popular with wealthier patients from around the country and the globe...."
Related:
Hospital Dispute Heads to Court
Boston Medical Center to pay $1.1 million to resolve fraud charges
Sunday Globe Special: Break of Day
I'm usually up before it....
"Hepatitis C drug costs leave many without care" by Felice J. Freyer Globe Staff April 09, 2016
Twenty years ago, Larry Day learned two dangerous viruses were circulating in his body, HIV and hepatitis C. Both infections came from needles shared during his years as an injecting drug user.
Only one caused him big problems: hepatitis C. That virus destroyed his kidneys, an uncommon complication. Over time, he knew, hepatitis C could lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. So when drugs came on the market promising to cure him, Day — by then free of illicit drugs — was eager to give them a try.
But his Medicaid insurance plan said no. He could get the drugs only if his liver was damaged, and his liver was still in good shape.
The restrictions Day faced violate a federal directive, run contrary to medical guidelines, and undermine an opportunity to stop the spread of an infectious disease. But MassHealth, as the Massachusetts Medicaid program is known, is not alone in putting up obstacles to hepatitis C drugs.
Hepatitis C treatment costs tens of thousands of dollars per patient. The illness progresses slowly over decades, so most states’ Medicaid programs control costs by treating the sickest first and requiring others to wait.
The conflict over hepatitis C drugs, such as Sovaldi and Harvoni, heralds a challenge likely to persist into the future, as new drugs for other illnesses thrill doctors and patients with their effectiveness — and scare health plans with their prices.
Hepatitis C is a big concern for government, because it disproportionately affects low-income people, who are more likely to be on Medicaid, and prisoners, whose care is also the state’s responsibility.
Encouraged by Obummercare, and this is the reason we are getting rationed health care!
After months of appeals, Day, who lives in Boston and whose HIV infection is controlled by medication, got the hepatitis treatment. His doctor, Arthur Y. Kim at Massachusetts General Hospital, persuaded the insurance company that managed his Medicaid coverage to pay for the treatment.
They aren't even cut out of the government program.
So last summer, the 58-year-old swallowed one pill a day for three months, and when he was done, the virus was gone. When Kim told him hepatitis C was in his past, Day recalled, “I was like, ‘Are you kidding? How cool is that!’ ”
Rarely do physicians get to tell patients they have been cured of a chronic illness — but that is what happens for more than 90 percent of hepatitis C patients who take the drugs. The previous treatments cost more, had severe side effects, and worked only 40 percent of the time.
“This is transformative for people,” said Dr. David S. Yassa, an infectious-disease specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “In many ways, it’s one of the most rewarding things that you can do.”
No wonder the prices shot up!
They can ACTUALLY BE CURED!!
That's means NO REPEAT BUSINESS!
But while some get the cure, many others have to get sick before they can get better. The majority of Medicaid programs require evidence of liver damage before they approve treatment. Patients who are turned away often wait in the shadows, because hepatitis C primarily strikes people who injected drugs.
“Stigma plays a huge role in this,” said Ryan Clary, executive director of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, an advocacy group. “If it were another disease that didn’t have the same sort of stigma, I don’t think we’d have the same conversation.”
A Boston woman in her 60s, who became infected during what she described as a brief flirtation with drugs 20 or 30 years ago, agreed to an interview but didn’t want even her first name published. She said MassHealth/Neighborhood Health Plan would not cover her treatment because she remains healthy, so she lives with hepatitis C and hopes for the best.
“I’d think they would want to prevent me from becoming sick,” she said.
Baby boomers who used drugs in their youth, or who had blood transfusions before a screening test became available in 1992, could produce an epidemic of liver disease as they age. Massachusetts law says primary care physicians must offer a hepatitis C test to all patients born between 1945 and 1965.
Another age group presents new reason for concern — young people who inject drugs. In Massachusetts, hepatitis C infections among 15- to 29-year-olds increased 37 percent from 2007 to 2014, even as the number of cases overall remained steady.
Yet the MassHealth managed care organizations, along with half of the nation’s Medicaid programs, will pay for the drugs only if a person has stopped using alcohol and illicit drugs, for fear patients will be reinfected. Health professionals estimate only 2 percent become reinfected. Meanwhile, drug users who remain untreated may continue to spread the illness....
Only at the very end do they begin to discuss the price-gouging by pharmaceuticals responsible for the whole thing.
--more--"
Related: Mass. bill seeks to rein in prices of some drugs
Then they got to him.
Well, day is starting to break out there so off I go to get a Bo$ton Sunday Globe.
"Hepatitis C drug costs leave many without care" by Felice J. Freyer Globe Staff April 09, 2016
Twenty years ago, Larry Day learned two dangerous viruses were circulating in his body, HIV and hepatitis C. Both infections came from needles shared during his years as an injecting drug user.
Only one caused him big problems: hepatitis C. That virus destroyed his kidneys, an uncommon complication. Over time, he knew, hepatitis C could lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. So when drugs came on the market promising to cure him, Day — by then free of illicit drugs — was eager to give them a try.
But his Medicaid insurance plan said no. He could get the drugs only if his liver was damaged, and his liver was still in good shape.
The restrictions Day faced violate a federal directive, run contrary to medical guidelines, and undermine an opportunity to stop the spread of an infectious disease. But MassHealth, as the Massachusetts Medicaid program is known, is not alone in putting up obstacles to hepatitis C drugs.
Hepatitis C treatment costs tens of thousands of dollars per patient. The illness progresses slowly over decades, so most states’ Medicaid programs control costs by treating the sickest first and requiring others to wait.
The conflict over hepatitis C drugs, such as Sovaldi and Harvoni, heralds a challenge likely to persist into the future, as new drugs for other illnesses thrill doctors and patients with their effectiveness — and scare health plans with their prices.
Hepatitis C is a big concern for government, because it disproportionately affects low-income people, who are more likely to be on Medicaid, and prisoners, whose care is also the state’s responsibility.
Encouraged by Obummercare, and this is the reason we are getting rationed health care!
After months of appeals, Day, who lives in Boston and whose HIV infection is controlled by medication, got the hepatitis treatment. His doctor, Arthur Y. Kim at Massachusetts General Hospital, persuaded the insurance company that managed his Medicaid coverage to pay for the treatment.
They aren't even cut out of the government program.
So last summer, the 58-year-old swallowed one pill a day for three months, and when he was done, the virus was gone. When Kim told him hepatitis C was in his past, Day recalled, “I was like, ‘Are you kidding? How cool is that!’ ”
Rarely do physicians get to tell patients they have been cured of a chronic illness — but that is what happens for more than 90 percent of hepatitis C patients who take the drugs. The previous treatments cost more, had severe side effects, and worked only 40 percent of the time.
“This is transformative for people,” said Dr. David S. Yassa, an infectious-disease specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “In many ways, it’s one of the most rewarding things that you can do.”
No wonder the prices shot up!
They can ACTUALLY BE CURED!!
That's means NO REPEAT BUSINESS!
But while some get the cure, many others have to get sick before they can get better. The majority of Medicaid programs require evidence of liver damage before they approve treatment. Patients who are turned away often wait in the shadows, because hepatitis C primarily strikes people who injected drugs.
“Stigma plays a huge role in this,” said Ryan Clary, executive director of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, an advocacy group. “If it were another disease that didn’t have the same sort of stigma, I don’t think we’d have the same conversation.”
A Boston woman in her 60s, who became infected during what she described as a brief flirtation with drugs 20 or 30 years ago, agreed to an interview but didn’t want even her first name published. She said MassHealth/Neighborhood Health Plan would not cover her treatment because she remains healthy, so she lives with hepatitis C and hopes for the best.
“I’d think they would want to prevent me from becoming sick,” she said.
Baby boomers who used drugs in their youth, or who had blood transfusions before a screening test became available in 1992, could produce an epidemic of liver disease as they age. Massachusetts law says primary care physicians must offer a hepatitis C test to all patients born between 1945 and 1965.
Another age group presents new reason for concern — young people who inject drugs. In Massachusetts, hepatitis C infections among 15- to 29-year-olds increased 37 percent from 2007 to 2014, even as the number of cases overall remained steady.
Yet the MassHealth managed care organizations, along with half of the nation’s Medicaid programs, will pay for the drugs only if a person has stopped using alcohol and illicit drugs, for fear patients will be reinfected. Health professionals estimate only 2 percent become reinfected. Meanwhile, drug users who remain untreated may continue to spread the illness....
Only at the very end do they begin to discuss the price-gouging by pharmaceuticals responsible for the whole thing.
--more--"
Related: Mass. bill seeks to rein in prices of some drugs
Then they got to him.
Well, day is starting to break out there so off I go to get a Bo$ton Sunday Globe.
Sunday Globe Special: Crazy Morning
It's deja vu all over again:
"Arbour must submit correction plan for 4 facilities" by Evan Allen and Liz Kowalczyk Globe Staff April 09, 2016
The state Department of Mental Health ordered four Arbour Health System psychiatric facilities to correct “significant patient care and life safety violations” or risk a shutdown of admissions, according to a statement from a state spokeswoman.
Over the past several weeks, state officials conducted a series of unannounced licensing inspections, at all hours and on weekends, at every Arbour Health System inpatient facility in Massachusetts, said Executive Office of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Michelle Hillman in a statement.
The violations discovered require “immediate corrective action,” she said. The nature of the violations was not immediately available, nor were details of the corrective plans.
The state’s demands were reported Saturday by The Patriot Ledger.
Not the Globe?
The violations are the latest in a series of issues discovered within Arbour Health System, which is the largest private behavioral health care provider in the state.
Arbour has been repeatedly cited by state regulators over the past several years for poor care and inadequate staffing, and the Department of Justice is currently investigating five of its hospitals for possible billing fraud.
At Arbour-HRI Hospital in Brookline two years ago, public health officials found the hospital failed to provide active treatment to some patients. And the US Supreme Court this month plans to review a case brought against Universal Health Services by the parents of a teenager who died in October 2009 after receiving care at an Arbour clinic in Lawrence.
See: High court will hear case tied to Mass. clinic death
That was before Scalia was killed.
The girl’s parents contend that the company defrauded government insurance programs.
“United Health Services has been maximizing profits at the expense of patients, which I feel is at the root of the problem,” said Kevin Hall, New England director of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.
Why is that a problem?
Hall said his national organization has been investigating United Health Services throughout the country. “People should do the research,” he said.
Unannounced visits by Department of Mental Health officials on Thursday showed signs of some improvements in all four hospitals, according to the department, including the repair, organization, and cleaning of some areas identified as needing improvement.
Pembroke has obtained new emergency carts for all units, and trained nursing staff on their location and use, according to the department. The seclusion room on the adolescent unit was repaired and painted, and evidence of air quality testing was provided. Signs and postings were updated, and extra safety equipment was put in place. Food storage and handling were improved.
The department will continue unannounced visits, according to officials, and will focus on safety, emergency preparedness, actual staffing levels, responsiveness to patient needs, and cleanliness....
You would be crazy to check into one of those places.
--more--"
Related: This Is Crazy
Typing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.
"Arbour must submit correction plan for 4 facilities" by Evan Allen and Liz Kowalczyk Globe Staff April 09, 2016
The state Department of Mental Health ordered four Arbour Health System psychiatric facilities to correct “significant patient care and life safety violations” or risk a shutdown of admissions, according to a statement from a state spokeswoman.
Over the past several weeks, state officials conducted a series of unannounced licensing inspections, at all hours and on weekends, at every Arbour Health System inpatient facility in Massachusetts, said Executive Office of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Michelle Hillman in a statement.
The violations discovered require “immediate corrective action,” she said. The nature of the violations was not immediately available, nor were details of the corrective plans.
The state’s demands were reported Saturday by The Patriot Ledger.
Not the Globe?
The violations are the latest in a series of issues discovered within Arbour Health System, which is the largest private behavioral health care provider in the state.
Arbour has been repeatedly cited by state regulators over the past several years for poor care and inadequate staffing, and the Department of Justice is currently investigating five of its hospitals for possible billing fraud.
At Arbour-HRI Hospital in Brookline two years ago, public health officials found the hospital failed to provide active treatment to some patients. And the US Supreme Court this month plans to review a case brought against Universal Health Services by the parents of a teenager who died in October 2009 after receiving care at an Arbour clinic in Lawrence.
See: High court will hear case tied to Mass. clinic death
That was before Scalia was killed.
The girl’s parents contend that the company defrauded government insurance programs.
“United Health Services has been maximizing profits at the expense of patients, which I feel is at the root of the problem,” said Kevin Hall, New England director of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.
Why is that a problem?
Hall said his national organization has been investigating United Health Services throughout the country. “People should do the research,” he said.
Unannounced visits by Department of Mental Health officials on Thursday showed signs of some improvements in all four hospitals, according to the department, including the repair, organization, and cleaning of some areas identified as needing improvement.
Pembroke has obtained new emergency carts for all units, and trained nursing staff on their location and use, according to the department. The seclusion room on the adolescent unit was repaired and painted, and evidence of air quality testing was provided. Signs and postings were updated, and extra safety equipment was put in place. Food storage and handling were improved.
The department will continue unannounced visits, according to officials, and will focus on safety, emergency preparedness, actual staffing levels, responsiveness to patient needs, and cleanliness....
You would be crazy to check into one of those places.
--more--"
Related: This Is Crazy
Typing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.
Sunday Globe Special: Skateboarding Through Holyoke
"Skateboard park brightens hard-pressed Holyoke" by Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff April 09, 2016
HOLYOKE — It’s an incremental step toward better times for Holyoke, whose once-bustling mills made it a global colossus in the paper industry. In recent decades, poverty and crime have hammered this city of 40,000, and the opioid crisis has been particularly severe.
“You need to make investments in neighborhoods like this in particular,” said third-term Mayor Alex Morse. “It’s just a matter of priorities.”
The Holyoke Skate Park “saved a bunch of [kids] because, finally, the stars aligned, and we were able to get things done.”
--more--"
That's what woke me up.
"5 cities receive grant to fund all-day preschool" by Sarah Roberts Globe Correspondent September 15, 2015
A new federally funded early education program will allow five large cities in Massachusetts to open all-day preschool classrooms.
The money will fund the Massachusetts Preschool Expansion Grant program, which will bring together local public schools with community-based early educations programs. The cities will receive a combined total of more than $14 million this year to set up 45 new classrooms, according to a statement from the state Department of Early Education and Care.
“I am pleased to help welcome students to the new school year and highlight the expansion of the diverse early education and care system through this new pilot,” Governor Charlie Baker said in the statement. “The goal is to ensure that more children have access to the educational resources they need to put them on an early path to success, and achieve proficiency in reading by the end of the third grade.”
The federal award will provide a yearlong, full-day preschool education to 78 children in Holyoke, where Baker visited one of the new classrooms on Tuesday.
See: 6 schools receive $4 million in grants
New classrooms will also be established in Boston, Lawrence, Lowell, and Springfield, providing programming to 780 more children, the education department said.
In Holyoke, the Preschool Expansion Grant has allowed Holyoke Public Schools to partner with the Valley Opportunity Council and Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start to open new preschool classrooms that will run from eight to 10 hours a day in four of their schools, the statement said.
The 45 new classrooms will operate on a full-day schedule throughout the school year. Classes will be small with about 10 children for every teacher. Attendance will be free to families whose income is no more than twice the federal poverty line, according to the education department.
Beginning this year, Massachusetts could receive up to $60 million over a four-year period from the federal Preschool Expansion Grant program to fund the preschool classrooms.
--more--"
Oh, I forgot. No school today.
"Holyoke aims for long-term revival" by Sean Teehan Globe Correspondent April 01, 2016
HOLYOKE — The efforts to revive Holyoke have a long way to go. Abandoned buildings still litter the fledgling Innovation District around the supercomputer center. And the facility just doesn’t provide the same level of economic boost expected from the $950 million MGM casino-hotel project being built in Springfield, eight miles down Interstate 91.
Holyoke is among the Commonwealth’s poorest communities, with almost a third of its 39,000 residents living below the poverty line in 2014, nearly three times the state rate, according to the US Census Bureau, but progress is being made, and supercomputers were the spark....
What more do you need to know?
--more--"
It's sister city:
"After decades of stagnation, signs of life in Springfield" by Theresa Sullivan Barger Globe Correspondent April 01, 2016
SPRINGFIELD — Still, Springfield remains one of New England’s poorest cities, with a median household income of $35,000 and more than 30 percent of its residents living in poverty, according to the US Census Bureau. Only about 67 percent of its students graduate from high school, and only 37 percent of its third graders read at grade level, according to the state Department of Education.
Springfield’s unemployment rate in January was 6 percent, compared with 4.7 percent statewide, according to the US Department of Labor. Although that figure doesn’t capture the underemployed and those who stopped looking for work, it’s an improvement from more than 10 percent in 2010.
“Some investments are coming in that give reason for hope for the economy,” said Prabal Chakrabarti, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. However, there’s a low labor-force participation rate among Springfield’s 154,000 residents. “You see a low rate in good times and in bad. You see barriers because of lack of education, language, and other workplace skills,” Chakrabarti said. “This is going to take a multigenerational solution.”
For a multigenerational problem brought on by the likes of people like him.
Workforce groups, public schools, community colleges and businesses are working to try to provide the technical and soft skills that unemployed people need to get and keep jobs. Employers uniformly say their biggest challenge is the skills gap between the unemployed and the available jobs, said Rick Sullivan, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts. The groups addressing this problem recognize that this population faces several challenges, including insufficient public transportation and lack of affordable child care.
And the flood of immigrants working two or three jobs, etc, but whatever.
“Most of the people that live in Springfield have been so negative for so many years. You have to be an outsider like myself to have the long view of it. If I sold today, they would be worth two or three times what I bought them for,” said Glenn H. Edwards, founder of a commercial real estate investment firm based in Lynbrook, N.Y., who bought eight buildings at market rate on Main Street in Springfield’s central business district and invested more than $1 million to upgrade his buildings in the past year....
I'm glad someone is making out well.
--more--"
Yup, craft breweries are the answer to any economic woes!
HOLYOKE — It’s an incremental step toward better times for Holyoke, whose once-bustling mills made it a global colossus in the paper industry. In recent decades, poverty and crime have hammered this city of 40,000, and the opioid crisis has been particularly severe.
“You need to make investments in neighborhoods like this in particular,” said third-term Mayor Alex Morse. “It’s just a matter of priorities.”
The Holyoke Skate Park “saved a bunch of [kids] because, finally, the stars aligned, and we were able to get things done.”
--more--"
That's what woke me up.
"5 cities receive grant to fund all-day preschool" by Sarah Roberts Globe Correspondent September 15, 2015
A new federally funded early education program will allow five large cities in Massachusetts to open all-day preschool classrooms.
The money will fund the Massachusetts Preschool Expansion Grant program, which will bring together local public schools with community-based early educations programs. The cities will receive a combined total of more than $14 million this year to set up 45 new classrooms, according to a statement from the state Department of Early Education and Care.
“I am pleased to help welcome students to the new school year and highlight the expansion of the diverse early education and care system through this new pilot,” Governor Charlie Baker said in the statement. “The goal is to ensure that more children have access to the educational resources they need to put them on an early path to success, and achieve proficiency in reading by the end of the third grade.”
The federal award will provide a yearlong, full-day preschool education to 78 children in Holyoke, where Baker visited one of the new classrooms on Tuesday.
See: 6 schools receive $4 million in grants
New classrooms will also be established in Boston, Lawrence, Lowell, and Springfield, providing programming to 780 more children, the education department said.
In Holyoke, the Preschool Expansion Grant has allowed Holyoke Public Schools to partner with the Valley Opportunity Council and Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start to open new preschool classrooms that will run from eight to 10 hours a day in four of their schools, the statement said.
The 45 new classrooms will operate on a full-day schedule throughout the school year. Classes will be small with about 10 children for every teacher. Attendance will be free to families whose income is no more than twice the federal poverty line, according to the education department.
Beginning this year, Massachusetts could receive up to $60 million over a four-year period from the federal Preschool Expansion Grant program to fund the preschool classrooms.
--more--"
Oh, I forgot. No school today.
"Holyoke aims for long-term revival" by Sean Teehan Globe Correspondent April 01, 2016
HOLYOKE — The efforts to revive Holyoke have a long way to go. Abandoned buildings still litter the fledgling Innovation District around the supercomputer center. And the facility just doesn’t provide the same level of economic boost expected from the $950 million MGM casino-hotel project being built in Springfield, eight miles down Interstate 91.
Holyoke is among the Commonwealth’s poorest communities, with almost a third of its 39,000 residents living below the poverty line in 2014, nearly three times the state rate, according to the US Census Bureau, but progress is being made, and supercomputers were the spark....
What more do you need to know?
--more--"
It's sister city:
"After decades of stagnation, signs of life in Springfield" by Theresa Sullivan Barger Globe Correspondent April 01, 2016
SPRINGFIELD — Still, Springfield remains one of New England’s poorest cities, with a median household income of $35,000 and more than 30 percent of its residents living in poverty, according to the US Census Bureau. Only about 67 percent of its students graduate from high school, and only 37 percent of its third graders read at grade level, according to the state Department of Education.
Springfield’s unemployment rate in January was 6 percent, compared with 4.7 percent statewide, according to the US Department of Labor. Although that figure doesn’t capture the underemployed and those who stopped looking for work, it’s an improvement from more than 10 percent in 2010.
“Some investments are coming in that give reason for hope for the economy,” said Prabal Chakrabarti, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. However, there’s a low labor-force participation rate among Springfield’s 154,000 residents. “You see a low rate in good times and in bad. You see barriers because of lack of education, language, and other workplace skills,” Chakrabarti said. “This is going to take a multigenerational solution.”
For a multigenerational problem brought on by the likes of people like him.
Workforce groups, public schools, community colleges and businesses are working to try to provide the technical and soft skills that unemployed people need to get and keep jobs. Employers uniformly say their biggest challenge is the skills gap between the unemployed and the available jobs, said Rick Sullivan, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts. The groups addressing this problem recognize that this population faces several challenges, including insufficient public transportation and lack of affordable child care.
And the flood of immigrants working two or three jobs, etc, but whatever.
“Most of the people that live in Springfield have been so negative for so many years. You have to be an outsider like myself to have the long view of it. If I sold today, they would be worth two or three times what I bought them for,” said Glenn H. Edwards, founder of a commercial real estate investment firm based in Lynbrook, N.Y., who bought eight buildings at market rate on Main Street in Springfield’s central business district and invested more than $1 million to upgrade his buildings in the past year....
I'm glad someone is making out well.
--more--"
Yup, craft breweries are the answer to any economic woes!
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Coming Out of Retirement
It's $omething I have wre$tled with (the kids grow up so fast, don't they?) the last week (after talking things out and making up, of course) or so, what with Saturday being the big blog day around here.
Today's Globe started and ended in the toilet with a lot of crap in-between. In fact, the whole thing stinks day after day as I blow my horn on those turkeys.
I can't pinpoint the moment I began feeling that way, but I have just shut up and ignored the call as time has gone on. I guess it is the never-ending lies, and here they are again. They can't find where the psyop calls are coming from, but don't let that interfere with the worship of myths or the fun regarding Monday's Marathon. It's getting hard to tell the "real-life" actors from the crisis variety these days, although I suppose they are all one in the same. I'm just grateful to God that the truth will finally be told.
I'm now going to abandon the agenda-approved protests and the kid in Milton and go national where the trail has heated up. The guns will be going off at churches in Mississippi over the new water rules in Michigan, I'm sure, and the articles about Cosby and Congre$$ are worth aborting after one quick check of any final texts.
Turning to the world, the quakes in Japan are causing some concern, and is it mere coincidence that they happen just after Kerry, the great global warming campaigner who carries the stench of hypocrisy wherever he goes, praised the butchers of Bahrain while trying to start a war with Iran?
He did stop in Afghanistan to give a pep talk to the troops before moving on to Japan where he made no apology in a historic first before making noise about war with China, and that's what leads today's printed world coverage as well.
Below that is a he said/he said piece regarding the Pope and Bernie Sanders. Who do you think is telling the truth?
I'm afraid I'll be taking a detour down South now as that effort at a coup has been confirmed. You can spend the day at the Globe water park if you want. They are rationing health care here even though there is plenty of money for certain other intere$ts.
Well, time for me to batten down the hatches, load the luggage, put on the seat belt, and watch some television.
I can only end this post by wishing you a good life before heading back into retirement.
Next Day Updates:
Blade runner set to tackle Boston Marathon
Tough Ruckers walk, run to remember and honor heroes
Roxbury teen arrested in Florida on Salem murder charges
Bernie Sanders says meeting with pope is not an endorsement
More than 40 in Japan dead in earthquakes
Boston-area residents with Japan ties anxiously await news
Fight to Impeach Brazil’s Leader Tears at Fabric of Daily Life
Time to flush.
Today's Globe started and ended in the toilet with a lot of crap in-between. In fact, the whole thing stinks day after day as I blow my horn on those turkeys.
I can't pinpoint the moment I began feeling that way, but I have just shut up and ignored the call as time has gone on. I guess it is the never-ending lies, and here they are again. They can't find where the psyop calls are coming from, but don't let that interfere with the worship of myths or the fun regarding Monday's Marathon. It's getting hard to tell the "real-life" actors from the crisis variety these days, although I suppose they are all one in the same. I'm just grateful to God that the truth will finally be told.
I'm now going to abandon the agenda-approved protests and the kid in Milton and go national where the trail has heated up. The guns will be going off at churches in Mississippi over the new water rules in Michigan, I'm sure, and the articles about Cosby and Congre$$ are worth aborting after one quick check of any final texts.
Turning to the world, the quakes in Japan are causing some concern, and is it mere coincidence that they happen just after Kerry, the great global warming campaigner who carries the stench of hypocrisy wherever he goes, praised the butchers of Bahrain while trying to start a war with Iran?
He did stop in Afghanistan to give a pep talk to the troops before moving on to Japan where he made no apology in a historic first before making noise about war with China, and that's what leads today's printed world coverage as well.
Below that is a he said/he said piece regarding the Pope and Bernie Sanders. Who do you think is telling the truth?
I'm afraid I'll be taking a detour down South now as that effort at a coup has been confirmed. You can spend the day at the Globe water park if you want. They are rationing health care here even though there is plenty of money for certain other intere$ts.
Well, time for me to batten down the hatches, load the luggage, put on the seat belt, and watch some television.
I can only end this post by wishing you a good life before heading back into retirement.
Next Day Updates:
Blade runner set to tackle Boston Marathon
Tough Ruckers walk, run to remember and honor heroes
Roxbury teen arrested in Florida on Salem murder charges
Bernie Sanders says meeting with pope is not an endorsement
More than 40 in Japan dead in earthquakes
Boston-area residents with Japan ties anxiously await news
Fight to Impeach Brazil’s Leader Tears at Fabric of Daily Life
Time to flush.
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