I have a childhood friend who has lived in Bologna, Italy, since College. We keep in touch several times a year, plus he visits us in Miami every Christmas.

I emailed him today to see if he was impacted by the spread of the Coronavirus in Italy.

He said, “Right now we are all fine in Bologna, no cases of Coronavirus have been reported here… yet…. The cluster in northern Italy is expanding and I expect sooner or later, it will reach Bologna. People in Bologna are aware of the virus, and only recently, started to change their daily habits. We haven’t seen many people wearing face masks, unlike the areas in northern Italy. Health officials are saying face masks should not be worn by healthy people because it won’t prevent us from contracting the virus. It should only be worn by people with colds or symptoms of the flu, fever, cough… to “stop” the virus from spreading. I feel it can’t hurt to wear a mask and it is better than nothing.

“The news is constantly reporting information about the virus, not only in Italy, but also what’s happening in other European countries, as well as the U.S. Now they’re saying about 12 states have already declared a state of emergency, Florida included. Whats going on there? I thought Florida would be spared and we could seek safe haven there but it appears to be one of the first states affected!”

The Neighborhood Name Game – The New York Times



Murder in Fairfield County

Part 4

https://airmail.news/issues/2020-2-29/murder-in-fairfield-county?utm_campaign=2020-2-29-1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=delivery

Murder in Fairfield County

9 Women from American History You Should Know, According to Historians

From a pioneering cancer doctor to a fighter for Cuban liberation

Read in TIME: https://apple.news/AHtmzmdjCRVKOC5hfJA4a4Q

How a small candy company became Warren Buffett’s ‘dream’ investment

I read this story in the Hustle this morning. The first time I walked into a See’s candy store was in Van Nuys, CA, 1964, and actor Michael Landon was at the counter. I never saw anything so gorgeous.

https://thehustle.co/how-a-small-candy-company-became-warren-buffetts-dream-investment/

Art can make millions for those who know how to buy and sell.

Geffen Splashes $30 Million on Art After Selling Home to Bezos – Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-14/geffen-splashes-30-million-on-art-after-selling-home-to-bezos

Before you swallow that next pill you must listen to the interview Steve Greenberg and I did with author Gerald Posner on his new book, “Pharma.” We aren’t allowed to release our podcast, “Lying on the Beach” till this Tuesday when the book comes out. We are frantic for you to know what we have learned from Gerald Posner.

My Facebook Question

A very strange development in the Fotis Dulos murder case

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-connecticut-fotis-dulos-murder-case-dropped-20200303-65dbnnkdnbf75j47w6vwbaweei-story.html?outputType=amp

Late-night comedy: After Jill Biden confronted protesters who rushed onstage during her husband’s victory rally on Tuesday, Jimmy Fallon said, “Forget first lady — she should be secretary of defense.”

Joe Biden sees surge in Jewish support in primary – The Forward



Bye bye Trump. Send to every Jew who voted for Trump because he was a so-called friend of Israel. Quote me, “Trump is a friend of no one, just himself.”

https://forward.com/news/national/440944/joe-biden-jewish-support-democratic-primary/

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https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/348033/eschewing-print-viacom-will-entertain-offers-for.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=readmore&utm_campaign=117454&hashid=5diGeBzpb0AojSU3CKX1uFN8mJM

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Qinza Najm is one of three artists working at The Fountainhead Residency this month in Miami. I really wish many of you would get involved. You have no idea how much more exciting our lives are now that we get to meet and spend time with from people all over the world. Call me to learn more. It doesn’t matter where you live. I will partner with you.

This month we welcome Qinza Najm, a NYC-based Pakistani-American artist. Najm has exhibited at venues including the Queens Museum (Queens, NY), Christie’s Art (Dubai), Art Basel (Miami, FL), Karachi Biennale (Pakistan), Western Exhibitions Gallery (Chicago) Museum of the Moving Image (Queens, NY), and the National Museum of Beijing (China). Her work has been featured in ArtNet News, the Huffington Post, the NY Daily News, International Business Week, Buzzfeed, and Upworthy.

Najm pursued her fine arts studies at Bath University and The Art Students League of New York, where she studied under the mentorship of Larry Poons. She completed her Psychology PhD at Tennessee State University. Her upbringing in Lahore, Pakistan, adulthood in the United States, and intense training in Psychology inform her paintings, performance and installation work related to gender, politics, and (em)-powerment.

“I am interested in the body as both medium and subject—the circumstances surrounding its physical occupation of space, the norms and laws that govern bodies as political subjects, and the uneven burden these norms often place on women and minorities. Drawing from my upbringing in Lahore, Pakistan, and adulthood in the United States, my sculptures, installations, and performances address gender, politics, and cultural power.

“I often use motifs of bodies stretched, deconstructed, distorted, and pushed beyond their limits. A manipulated body is a reflection of how power is exerted on our being. However, I am more interested in the depiction of human potential—an extended body claims space beyond its expected role, both physically and figuratively. In particular, I aim to raise questions about how we might transcend and combat cultural stereotypes, prejudice, Islamophobia, and racist and sexist norms.”

Laurene Powell Jobs Is Putting Her Own Dent in the Universe – The New York Times

“Mr. Trump’s attacks on the media were “right out of a dictator’s playbook.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/business/laurene-powell-jobs-corner-office.html

“I posted this on Facebook earlier today and it was shared by 30 plus followers.”

Is there such a thing as a successful business person who doesn’t have regrets and mistakes? I’m not talking about the low-life caliber of Trump. Writers used obits to bash Welch.

Jack Welch, Revered and Reviled Former Leader Of GE, Dies 03/03/2020

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/347905/jack-welch-revered-and-reviled-former-leader-of-g.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=readnow&utm_campaign=117421&hashid=5diGeBzpb0AojSU3CKX1uFN8mJM

Ralph Lauren to Cancel April Fashion Show Due to the Coronavirus – WWD

“Add Ralph Lauren to the list of companies that are canceling events due to the coronavirus outbreak.”

https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/ralph-lauren-to-cancel-april-fashion-show-due-to-the-coronavirus-outbreak-1203530414/

Rebekah Neumann’s Search For Enlightenment Fueled WeWork’s Collapse

( A great soap opera)

Dear Lois,

I am writing to a small group of friends and colleagues about my New York Times OpEd today, Big Pharma May Pose an Obstacle to Vaccine Development. 

Today’s opinion piece is only a small slice of what I uncovered during the last few years of research for my upcoming book, PHARMA: Greed, Lies and the Poisoning of America. PHARMA is an investigative history of the American drug industry. It is packed with revelations from the opioid epidemic and the Sackler family to how companies game the system to charge exorbitant prices. Avid Reader Press will publish it on March 10.

The prepublication reception has been super. Kirkus calls it a “A shocking, rousing condemnation of an industry clearly in need of better policing.” LitHubselected PHARMA as one of its most anticipated books of 2020: “Posner has created a medical leviathan for our times.” Booklist calls it “an encyclopedic exposé. Explosively, even addictively, readable.” 

Bestselling author of Dopesick, Beth Macy, says “I could not put down Gerald Posner’s Pharma, the definitive story of how one family, the Sacklers, set out to get exquisitely rich on the back of unsuspecting Americans—then blamed the so-called ‘abusers’ instead of their own highly addictive drug. Posner has unearthed important new material that illuminates our national tragedy, crafting a meticulously reported page-turner that is as juicy as it is clear-eyed.”

Trisha and I have been buried for five years in the world of pharmaceuticals. We are grateful to many people who helped us, especially at those moments when the project seemed insurmountable. We are both relieved that it is finally about to land on book shelves and its fate will be determined by critics and readers.

Check Events for information on upcoming bookstore and media appearances. And if you missed it, here is a video trailer for the book.

As always,

Gerald