A good point:

The context over here is a discussion of the idiots currently protesting in Washington, DC, in an attempt to murder thousands of children by means of vaccine-preventable diseases, motivated by a spurious link between vaccines and autism (which, even if it were true, would still be a smaller calamity than vaccine-preventable epidemics). A common claim among the anti-vax is, of course, that Big Pharma is pushing vaccines for profit regardless of human suffering.

Note that the Jim Carrey quoted at the top is the actor, not a noted medical researcher.

[…]but many of us believe that in the last few decades corporate influence has turned the vaccine program into more of a profit engine than a means of prevention.

[Jim Carrey]

The irony is that big pharma hates vaccines. It is extremely difficult to get a pharma house to sponsor a vaccine. They just don't make enough money off of them: consider an "expensive" vaccine like the HPV vaccine. IIRC, the HPV vaccine costs $300X3. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Not to a pharma company. People who don't take the vaccine might end up with cervical cancer, which is treated with cisplatinum, at a cost of $1000+ per dose x 10 or more. Not counting treatment of recurrences and metastatic disease. Much more profitable.

If I were into conspiracy theories*, I might suspect "big pharma" of funding these idiots so that they won't get pressured to research vaccines any more and can go back to more profitable routes of research like making drugs that ameliorate symptoms or even cure diseases but don't prevent them. Prevention is so unprofitable.

*Which I am insofar as I enjoy inventing them, but am not in that I never believe my own conspiracy theories.

Dianne, in a comment at Respectful Insolence

What I learned today

1. Getting kneed in the floating ribs, even lightly, is a lot more disturbing than being kicked.
2. Although I've long since decided that karate-style punching is not a good idea (hands and shoulders are too low), karate-style kicks can serve me well in sparring, especially side-thrust kicks.
3. I am still way too afraid of getting punched in the head. I'm OK with kicks¹, but I can't deal with punches.

Maybe I should go to a few boxing classes, not just kickboxing. I believe there's a time on Saturdays…

¹ I'm OK with kicks in general, not necessarily kicks to the head. Still, I seem to take the kick on a glove/moving back and shrug it off more easily than a couple of hooks.