Category Archives: Banana republic

Emergency Room Doctors’ Lobbyist Admits to Large-Scale Medicare Billing Fraud by Members, Criminal Corporate Practice of Medicine by PE Firms

Private equtiy stealing from babies…um, oldsters….um, Medicare. Who’d have thunk it?

Medicare Plans’ ‘Free’ Dental, Vision, Hearing Benefits Come at a Cost

On the Medicare Advantage bait and switch.

“Want to See a Modern Country Commit Suicide? Take a Hard Look at Britain”

Post Brexit Britain is not doing at all well, and things are not going to take a turn any time soon.

The Last Days of The Romanovs at the Port of Los Angeles (and Where Is Everybody?)

Cutting the Gordian knot at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. Or not!

Wall Street Journal Provides New Evidence of Facebook Politically-Driven Intervention in Content

Some Facebook internal chats reveal its censorship, um, moderation to be a hot mess.

New York City Retirees Refusing to Eat the Medicare Advantage Dogfood

Savvy New York City retirees have worked out that Medicare Advantage sucks.

The Agribusiness Alliance for a Green Revolution Failed Africa

Big Ag’s push to sell chemicals and other inputs to developing countries has worked out great for them and badly for Africa.

Spike in Energy Prices Suggests That Sharp Changes Are Ahead

Gail Tverberg expands her focus beyond energy to provide an analysis of what is going terribly wrong in the world economy

New Report Highlights Corporate Funding of Police Foundations, Which Encourage Police Militarization and Thwart Reform

Corporations funnel significant funds to anti-reform police foundations, while publicly supporting PR campaigns for police reform.

Insurance Focused on Virtual Visits? The Pros and Cons of a New Twist in Health Plans

The pandemic has made patients more comfortable with telemedicine for doctor visits. Insurers are betting that some patients will now embrace new types of health coverage that encourages video visits — or outright insists on them.

Bad Biden Foreign Policy

Biden is as bad as Trump on foreign policy. The press has been absent save ampllifying the arms merchants’ hissy over the Afghanistan exit

Wolf Richter: The Amazing Explosion of New Businesses Continues as Americans Strike Out on their Own

Including Wolf’s 2 cents about the high “failure rates” of new businesses, being a small-business owner himself.

‘Waive the Patents’: Moderna Still Refuses to Share Covid-19 Vaccine Recipe

Modern refuses to share vaccine recipe and acts as if they have absolutely no responsibility beyond maximizing their return on investment.

Never Mind the Pandora Papers: Why Secrecy Still Rules in the UK

Thanks to poor drafting and a lack of enforcement, anti-secrecy legislation intended to make it clearer who owns UK companies isn’t working