Four Horsemen | The Age of Consequence

After the greatest financial heist in our history, the modern day 'Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse' continue to ride roughshod over the people whom can least afford it. They are -

One - a rapacious financial system.

Two - escalating organized violence.

Three - abject poverty for billions.

Four - exhaustion of the earth’s resources.

And they continue to gallop unchallenged because we're not questioning the accepted norms.

The documentary, Four Horsemen, is the debut feature from director Ross Ashcroft which reveals the fundamental flaws in the economic system which have brought our civilization to the brink of disaster. 23 leading thinkers – frustrated at the failure of their respective disciplines – break their silence to explain how the world really works. Find some time to watch this.

Here's the trailer. You can watch the entire documentary online at Renegade Economist.

The Absence | A Short Film

A middle manager at a shadowy corporation, Benjamin Moss is just following orders when he accepts an important mission to hunt down stolen documents.

When he arrives at a mysterious town where many of the inhabitants have vanished, he is forced to confront the devastating consequences of his work and must choose whether or not to continue to obey his messianic boss.


The Absence from Alex DeMille on Vimeo.

Do You Want To Be A RoboPharmacist?

I think that I may have mentioned a while back that I went to pharmacy school mainly to please my ex-wife, who said that she wouldn't stay married to me if I didn't become a pharmacist. As Dr. Phil might say to me. "So, how's that working out for you?"

I know that times are tough, and that you're seeking the safety of a well-paying career. But before you apply to pharmacy school, makes sure that a pharmacist is truly someone you can envision being.

Do you really want to become part of a profession where conformity rules, where many of us can only survive if we "comply" with corporate demands, and are expected to "obey" without complaint? Can you envision becoming a robopharmacist, working for one of the PBMs or one of the chains? Can you do that for 25 years?

Be true to yourself, and don't do anything because someone else pressures you into it. Just imagine what your first job interview would be like after graduating and becoming licensed if you did.

[Damn! Perfect original video link removed by source]

The Big Club | Corporatocracy

And there is it - just like long-serving Independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders predicted, that many investigative journalists and former Government insiders have reported, and that comedian and social critic George Carlin described years ago - the corporations control America.

President Barack Obama has proposed changes in his 2014 fiscal year budget that cut our Medicare and Social Security benefits. Like George said, "it's a big club, and we ain't in it" | "and now they're coming for your social security money" | "they want your fucking retirement money".

Who's Really Exploiting The System?

If there's one common complaint that I've heard coming from retail pharmacists and techs nationwide, it's about dealing with seemingly able customers who they consider are abusing the welfare system. I've even heard some of them say that they "hate" those leeches. Although it's never bothered me as much as some of my former colleagues, I can understand their anger.

Imagine working in pharmacy located in a poorer section of town and constantly dealing everyday with customers who seem to have no overt physical problems, dress nicely, drive expensive vehicles, and perhaps even wear more bling than you, and who then use Medicaid/AHCCCS/ Workers Comp or some other type of social welfare program to pay for their prescriptions.

And to top it off, you find out that some of those welfare recipients can't speak English, increasing your suspicions that they might not even be Americans!

It's not hard to understand why those pharmacists and techs are angry at people who they think are exploiting the system. They've struggled, they've sacrificed, they've worked hard and put up with a lot of bullshit to earn everything they've got. Why should their hard-earned tax dollars be spent supporting people who are being allowed to suck off the system? Who wouldn't agree with that? I know that I do.

Of course, things aren't always what they seem to be.

I'm sure that many welfare recipients aren't exploiting the system and truly need the help. Although a few of us have probably said it, wishing that we could be in their shoes to live their lives of ease isn't the answer. If you've dealt with some welfare patients behind the scenes, and see how they really live, you wouldn't wish their quiet lives of desperation on your worst enemies.

That being said, yes, I'm also sure that there are some welfare patients exploiting the system. And you want to know what? It's not fully their fault. Lack of enforcement is the problem. Exploitation of any system would rarely occur if it was designed appropriately and the rules enforced to protect it.

But, exploiting the system is what America is all about. That's how we roll.

The problem with America today hasn't been caused by some poor schlub who may taking advantage of the social welfare system. America, and the rest of the world too, is in crisis because of the lack of enforcement against corporate crime, and corporate welfare. That's where most of our tax dollars are being spent. That's where the bulk of any type of investigation and reform should be directed.

As such, when you begin to read investigative reports into crimes involving the social welfare system, ask yourself why, especially during this period in time, are such investigations are being conducted?

Is it because the social welfare system is truly in crisis and could cause the American economy to fail? Or is it because the grand old "party of hate" is attempting to redirect your anger away from the real crimes being committed against the American public, in an effort to exploit you?

So, if you feel the need to have to hate people, then make sure that you're hating the right people.

Eliminating Human Beings From The Hiring Process

There's a reason why corporations have worked so hard to put themselves in the driver's seat over the past decade. With a tough economy and nearly everyone on the internet, one job opening promoted online can receive thousands of applications. Now they can make people jump through all kinds of unnecessary hoops in order to find a job.

So with competition fierce and many firms now using software rather than human beings to hire, Paul Solman explores whether it is worth it to apply online or if there are better strategies to get employed.


Source: PBS Newshour: Making Sen$e

The Ends Always Justify The Means

I guess it’s all about the corporate dream. It always seems as though the ends justify the means with corporations. What we need is an honest, uncorrupted, independent candidate who'll speak the truth about what's happening behind the scenes in our political system.

I think I'm going to listen to my idealistic offspring and vote for Dexter Holland.

In The Shadow | Dans L'Ombre

Are you still a "Wearer", or have you become "Wearerless"? Only your shadow knows for sure.


Dans l'ombre | In The Shadow - Short Film from Fabrice Mathieu on Vimeo.

Welcome To Life

Welcome to the future of corporate-sponsored healthcare in afterlife. Please select a plan.


Source: Tom Scott | Hat tip: eBaum's World

Corporatocracy And Pharmacy

Before you read any further, I know what you're thinking. You think that I must be crazy or some type of conspiracy theorist. I'm just too cynical. You know that corporations don't own the politicians or control our society. The American people are in charge of our country and the politicians work for us.

You know that there's no such thing as "corporatocracy". It's just a figment of my imagination.

But nonetheless, the State of Arizona has farmed out their prison pharmacist positions earlier this year to a private company (pdf) from the State of Pennsylvania, and at a higher cost than last year.

As such, there aren't any more "cushy" state jobs, with great benefits, left for pharmacists. Those type of positions have become obsolete. Pharmacists working for the prison system are now "at will" employees whose employment is subject to the whim of those private corporate contractors.

So, wondering how privatization was working out for prison pharmacists who've been on the job for years, I decided to ask a former Arizona State DOC pharmacist about how the changes affected him personally. He didn't seem too happy about it.

Luckily though, he agreed to share a portion of his recorded exit-interview with us for posterity.

The Corporation

First released in 2003, yet still provoking, witty, and sweepingly informative, The Corporation explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time.

Part film and part movement, The Corporation has transformed audiences and dazzled critics with its insightful and compelling analysis. Taking its status as a legal "person" to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is it?"

Here's the trailer -


Source: TheCorporation.com 2.0

Beyond Cynicism

A great conversation between Robert Reich and John Stewart on The Daily Show.

A Solution to Corporatocracy?

An interview with Lawrence Lessig on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart discussing his new book - Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It.