Not Exactly Beacons Of Morality
Not Exactly Beacons Of Morality
Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson? Let me learn you.
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Not too long ago I was watching a football game with my dad. I’m the sort of person who tries to read and watch at the same time, kind of tuning in and out, so I was only half paying attention. But during a commercial break, absorbed in my phone though I was, I vaguely heard the words “will” and “grit.” Since that latter word is rapidly becoming so antithetical to modern American culture that it’s practically fading into obsolescence as part of our lexicon, it was enough to spark my curiosity.
I looked up.
“This isn’t just a story about science, but also good old fashioned will and grit…”
And lo and behold, it was a Pfizer vaccine ad.
“Oh, get the fuck out of here,” I said as it ended.
For starters, will and grit? This egregious mischaracterization of the past two years? It’s borderline delusional. Come on, man.
Have some people exemplified “will and grit” during the pandemic?
Absolutely.
Are those people very much a minority in this country?
Well, they’re sure as shit not a majority or we wouldn’t be where we are right now.
So, that was one of two things that passed through my mind as the commercial reached its denouement.
And the other thing? Well when I blurted out my send off, my dad said something along the lines of, “What? That was an uplifting, good message.”
To which I replied, “It’s smoke. Bullshit. Pfizer is easily one of the most corrupt companies on the planet. They're like Big Pharma’s guidon bearer.”
My dad’s surprise kind of surprised me.
It occurred to me then that yeah, most people probably don't know much about the track record these companies have accumulated over the years; they don’t know that Pfizer, for example, is basically the paragon of corporate venality.
There’s a term out there called “epistemic corruption.” And Big Pharma is like the poster child.
When a knowledge system importantly loses integrity, ceasing to provide the kinds of trusted knowledge expected of it, we can label this epistemic corruption. Epistemic corruption often occurs because the system has been co-opted for interests at odds with some of the central goals thought to lie behind it. There is now abundant evidence that the involvement of pharmaceutical companies corrupts medical science. — Sergio Sismondo, Department of Philosophy, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Pfizer
You can take a look at Pfizer’s entire rap sheet here, if you’d like. It is, shall we say, extensive. I’ve picked out some highlights (not in chronological order):
Pfizer has been caught over and over again bribing officials in countries all over the world.
In 2009, Pfizer paid the largest criminal fine in history for fraudulent marketing: $2.3 billion.
In 2000, amid widespread criticism of the high price of AIDS medications, Pfizer offered to donate a two-year supply of its drug Diflucan worth $50 million to the South African government. But in 2003, after acquiring Pharmacia Corp., Pfizer reneged on the company’s plan to license its AIDS drug Rescriptor for low-cost distribution in poor countries.
In 2008, Pfizer agreed to pay a $975,000 civil penalty to resolved federal charges that it violated the Clean Air Act at its former manufacturing plant in Groton, Connecticut.
In 2000, The Washington Post published a major exposé accusing Pfizer of testing a dangerous new antibiotic called Trovan on children in Nigeria without receiving proper consent from their parents. The experiment occurred during a 1996 meningitis epidemic in the country. In 2001, Pfizer was sued in U.S. federal court by thirty Nigerian families, who accused the company of using their children as human guinea pigs.
Johnson and Johnson
Though not as extensive as Pfizer’s, J&J’s rap sheet is still very long as well, and the depravity is just as awesome to behold. Highlights include:
J&J knew since 1969 that its baby powder contained asbestos, a substance known to be a carcinogen since the early 70s, and it chose to poison babies for profit for 4 decades anyway.
In 2021, J&J reached an agreement with a group of states under which it would pay $5 billion to resolve litigation brought against its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals alleging improper sale of pain medications, contributing to the national opioid epidemic.
J&J paid more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil charges of off-label marketing (to children and elderly) of its antipsychotic Risperdal and providing kickbacks to doctors and pharmacists.
J&J’s wholly owned subsidiary McNeil pleaded guilty to adulterating infant/child over the counter medication, meaning toxic foreign materials such as heavy metals were found in the medications.
In 2001, J&J Medical Inc. had to pay $3.9 million to settle federal civil claims that the company overcharged the Department of Veterans Affairs in transactions involving catheters and other medical supplies. That same year, another J&J subsidiary, Lifescan Inc., paid $15 million to settle similar claims involving the VA.
Moderna
Moderna is another matter entirely: They don’t have a corporate rap sheet.
Why? Well, because — and this is something that like 10% of the population is cognizant of, if I had to guess — until the FDA authorized its covid vaccine last year, the company had never brought a product to market before. They had failed in every attempt.
In fact, Moderna’s repeated failures and its safety issues nearly pushed the company to the brink of financial ruin, but it was saved at the last minute when the government blessed it with $6 billion in taxpayer money to fund the development of a covid vaccine. Color me skeptical, but I’m a little wary of how this company went from being an abject failure riddled with safety issues to one that now has a $71 billion valuation one year later.
I mean, Moderna has only been around since 2010 but it's already earned a reputation for being sketchy as all hell. Secrecy, dissimulation, bullshit promises, shell games—you name it, Modern trades in it.
Bancel [the CEO] has repeatedly promised that Moderna’s new therapies will change the world, but the company has refused to publish any data on its mRNA vehicles, sparking skepticism from some scientists and a chiding from the editors of Nature. — Damian Garde, STAT
Examples:
“Research not fit to print” (2016)
How Do They Get Away With It?
Lobbying.
Yup. Simple as that.
Pharmaceutical companies buy policy makers, giving them so much money that Big Pharma has become too valuable to lose.
Drugmakers spend more money lobbying Washington than any other industry, and even set a new record in 2020 of $306 million. The industry’s trade association, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, was the No. 3 lobbying spender last year with $26 million spent.
The health sector has been the highest spending sector every quarter for three years. This quarter, the sector added $160.8 million for a $498.9 million 2021 lobbying total. The sector gave President Biden $60.6 million during the 2020 election cycle. — truthout.org
Spending $4.95 billion over the past 23 years, the pharmaceutical and health products industry has far outpaced all other industries in lobbying spending. It's important to note that this industry includes not only drug manufacturers but also the sellers of medical products and nutritional and dietary supplements. In 2021, spending has been topped by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America at $22.9 million. — Investopedia
Miscellaneous
★ CDC admits previous infection provides better immunity than vaccines:
The CDC is now admitting that starting in October people who recovered from covid had lower rates of infection and hospitalization than people who were vaccinated. Great. It only took two years for them to admit that natural immunity offers greater protection. Keep in mind that people have been banned from YouTube and Twitter and Facebook for saying this.
Also keep in mind that shit like this is still happening on a widespread basis:
★ Flint closes its schools indefinitely:
I feel like I’ve already ranted enough on this subject. You know my thoughts.
★ Pretty sure that covid mandates and vaccine passports don’t work:
★ But don’t worry, guys; Biden’s going to give out masks that don’t work either, because The Science™:
★ CNN has lost an estimated 90% (!) of its audience over the past year:
According to the latest ratings, Cable News’ once proud leader had an average viewership of only 548,000 for the week of January 3, a sharp drop from about 2.7 million viewers for the same week in 2021. ..
These numbers were boosted by reports from the Left Network of the Capitol Riot on January 6, making CNN the hottest day in history. However, to commemorate the first anniversary of the riot, right-wing rival Fox was well received in the coverage of the event.
The network also saw an 86% reduction in the highly desirable 25-54 demographics, adjusted at 113,000 last week, compared to an average of 822,000 CNNs a year ago. — Texas News Today
Good piece. Main stream media, what is it? What you have written is a simple recounting of obvious readily available and impossible to dispute information yet MSM is silent. Where are we? Is this a free country with a free press?