Author Topic: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched  (Read 226328 times)

Solid Blake

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1960 on: April 01, 2018, 04:16:03 AM »
David Thewlis delivered one of the best villians to grace the screen since Anton Chigurh. I don’t know what you’re on about?!

Also, season 2 of Atlanta is the best television at this very moment, that said—Legion season 2 drops on Tuesday... so...  :o

oldkid

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1961 on: April 01, 2018, 12:46:20 PM »
Downton Abbey, Season 2

We dive deep into WWI, ignoring the politics, mostly, but looking strongly at the personal results of the war.  People die, but not nearly as many as should have, between the tragedy of the war itself and the deadly influenza of 1918.  Frankly, I think by the end of the season, we came off pretty lucky, given the historical backdrop.

Two things I absolutely, gushingly love about this season: First, the character development of some of our "baddies", like Thomas and Miss O'Brian. They become much more complex characters and so much  more interesting.  They are real people.  Second, the romantic ups and downs of Mr. Bates and Anna.  What a remarkable couple, and so seriously romantic.  That's love as I remember it.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Bondo

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1962 on: April 02, 2018, 08:23:03 PM »
Dirty Money E3: Drug Short

Watching this on the heels of Betting on Zero is interesting. That doc centers around Ackman's short selling of Herbalife (a bet he has as yet seemingly lost). Here he is on the other side of the transaction, propping up Valeant Pharma, which specialized in buying up drugs and pumping up their prices. I thought the former doc showed Ackman failing to dunk on a company that it probably should have been easy to dunk on. Here he reveals himself as being completely out of his depth, not calling out a company he saw as hurting people, but being the company that specifically hurts people.

This is where my more authoritarian tendencies undoubtedly come out. This is where I just say "CINECAST! them" and advocate cancelling pharma patents and basically nationalizing pharmaceuticals. These things are too important to be left up to the vagaries of capitalism. Patents are constitutionally enshrined as a mechanism to support innovation in the public benefit. If it has ceased doing so, they need to be limited.

jdc

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1963 on: April 02, 2018, 08:36:58 PM »
Dirty Money E3: Drug Short

Watching this on the heels of Betting on Zero is interesting. That doc centers around Ackman's short selling of Herbalife (a bet he has as yet seemingly lost). Here he is on the other side of the transaction, propping up Valeant Pharma, which specialized in buying up drugs and pumping up their prices. I thought the former doc showed Ackman failing to dunk on a company that it probably should have been easy to dunk on. Here he reveals himself as being completely out of his depth, not calling out a company he saw as hurting people, but being the company that specifically hurts people.

This is where my more authoritarian tendencies undoubtedly come out. This is where I just say "CINECAST! them" and advocate cancelling pharma patents and basically nationalizing pharmaceuticals. These things are too important to be left up to the vagaries of capitalism. Patents are constitutionally enshrined as a mechanism to support innovation in the public benefit. If it has ceased doing so, they need to be limited.

But where do we have nationalized pharmaceuticals that create original, useful medicine?

I do hate Valeant, I use to argue with another investor friend of mine all the time about them. He owned it while it was going up and I only though they would implode but hardly looked at them very closely. Healthcare in general is such a screwed up market, it probably isn't close to resembling a free market or a nationalized market in anyway.
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“The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations” - David Friedman

Bondo

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1964 on: April 02, 2018, 09:56:54 PM »
I don't know, the impression I get is most private R&D goes into finding slight tweaks to current medication to restore patents, not to genuinely useful advancement. And indeed, it is public funding (through universities, etc.) that largely supports the innovations that make true health differences, especially for diseases that a smaller group ail from, but ail seriously. But I can't say for certain what percent is where. All I know is if you can make a thing for $1/pill that would save millions of lives but don't because you want to make money, you are doing evil. I am exceedingly weary of profit logic having a role in any aspect of health care.

jdc

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1965 on: April 02, 2018, 10:39:08 PM »
I can see where you are coming from but the situation where we have slight tweaks resulting in extending drugs that could be cheaper is likely a system that is propped up and a result of the government policy. While I know University play a large part in helping with rare diseases or discovering something like CRISPR, they would unlikely not ever be able to get a drug to market.  Though, they can still get the benefits through some of the licenses that they own.

As somebody famous once said, healthcare is very complicated. I certainly don't have a clue on what is the best fix but am suspect to turn drug R&D to the government.

But...it would get way too off-topic in this thread. If I get time to put more thought into it, will bring it over to the politics thread

"Beer. Now there's a temporary solution."  Homer S.
“The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations” - David Friedman

Bondo

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1966 on: April 04, 2018, 01:59:47 PM »
Well, the idea of intellectual property is entirely a governmental creation. It isn’t a part of a “free” market. But unintentionally in conjunction with watching this doc episode I’m listening to the audiobook of “An American Sickness” about the failings of US health care and it mentions a specific act that unintentionally incentivized the current pharma culture.

philip918

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1967 on: April 05, 2018, 09:43:38 AM »
Halfway through Wild Wild Country and it is incredible. Can't believe I'd never heard anything about these events.

saltine

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1968 on: April 09, 2018, 12:20:25 AM »
Halfway through Wild Wild Country and it is incredible. Can't believe I'd never heard anything about these events.
]
Nuts, isn't it?  I am wondering if Martin or oldkid remember these events.

I do, but from Texas, not from ground zero.
Texan Down Under

oldkid

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1969 on: April 09, 2018, 01:33:39 AM »
I came to Oregon in 86, just after these events.  I have some bare knowledge of them, so I'm looking forward to the doc.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky