wakingtimes--2020-01-23--FDA Failed to Make Sure Opioid Prescriptions Were Safe, Documents Show

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) failed to use its regulatory power meant to protect consumers to make sure that a program meant to stop improper prescribing of opioids was effective , according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine .
The researchers found that the weak oversight occurred just as the opioid crisis was taking root and tens of thousands of people were dying from overdoses every year , according to The New York Times .
The researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health looked at nearly 10,000 pages of FDA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk evaluation and mitigation strategy , ” which it launched in 2012 to address the risks that accompanied extended-release and long-acting opioids , as CNN reported .
Although these drugs “ can be clinically useful among appropriately selected patients , they have also been widely oversupplied , are commonly used nonmedically , and account for a disproportionate number of fatal overdoses , ” the authors wrote , as CNN reported .
The FDA did ask the makers of OxyContin and other highly addictive long-acting painkillers for safety training for the more than half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The FDA also asked the drug makers to track the efficacy of their training and steps they are taking to reduce addiction and overdoses , as The New York Times reported .
However , the FDA was never able to determine if their request was effective because the drug makers failed to collect the proper data .
The researchers found that when the FDA realized through its own review that it was apparent the drug makers were not tracking their training regimen correctly , the agency still did not demand improvement to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as The New York Times reported .
The study found that after more than five years after implementation , the FDA had no ability “ to assess whether these outcomes were achieved , ” as CNN reported .
The FDA was aware that allowing the drug companies to fund the analysis of their training was providing insufficient and missing data .
A 2013 inspector general report said the agency “ lacks comprehensive data to determine whether risk evaluation and mitigation strategies improve drug safety.
” Furthermore , a 2016 FDA advisory committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” according to the authors , as CNN reported .
The study found that the agency is a ripe target for criticism after refusing to take swift and effective action as a crisis was growing .
“ FDA has tools that could mitigate opioid risks more effectively if the agency would be more assertive in using its power to control opioid prescribing , manufacturing , and distribution , ” said retired FDA senior executive William K. Hubbard in an editorial that accompanied the study , as CNN reported .
“ Instead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has implemented the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy programs that … do not even meet the limited criteria set out by the FDA.
” Hubbard continued that the FDA has the ability to place tight restriction on opioid distribution , but it has dragged its feet in doing that , as CNN reported .
Other critics of the government ’ s response to opioid crisis echoed Hubbard ’ s sentiments .
Andrew Kolodny , the co-director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis , told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evaluation and mitigation strategy program was “ a really good example of the way FDA has failed to regulate opioid manufacturers .
If FDA had really been doing its job properly , I don ’ t believe we ’ d have an opioid crisis today .
”

FDA Failed to Make Sure Opioid Prescriptions Were Safe, Documents Show
Jordan Davidson, EcoWatch
Waking Times
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) failed to use its regulatory power meant to protect consumers to make sure that a program meant to stop improper prescribing of opioids was effective, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The researchers found that the weak oversight occurred just as the opioid crisis was taking root and tens of thousands of people were dying from overdoses every year, according to The New York Times.
The researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health looked at nearly 10,000 pages of FDA documents about the agency’s “risk evaluation and mitigation strategy,” which it launched in 2012 to address the risks that accompanied extended-release and long-acting opioids, as CNN reported.
Although these drugs “can be clinically useful among appropriately selected patients, they have also been widely oversupplied, are commonly used nonmedically, and account for a disproportionate number of fatal overdoses,” the authors wrote, as CNN reported.
The FDA did ask the makers of OxyContin and other highly addictive long-acting painkillers for safety training for the more than half the physicians prescribing the opioids in 2011. The FDA also asked the drug makers to track the efficacy of their training and steps they are taking to reduce addiction and overdoses, as The New York Times reported. However, the FDA was never able to determine if their request was effective because the drug makers failed to collect the proper data.
The researchers found that when the FDA realized through its own review that it was apparent the drug makers were not tracking their training regimen correctly, the agency still did not demand improvement to the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy program, as The New York Times reported.
The study found that after more than five years after implementation, the FDA had no ability “to assess whether these outcomes were achieved,” as CNN reported.
“What’s surprising here is the design of the program was deficient from the start,” said Caleb Alexander, the senior author of the study, who serves as a paid expert witness in litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors, according to The New York Times. “It’s unclear why the FDA didn’t insist upon a more scientifically rigorous evaluation of this safety program.”
The FDA was aware that allowing the drug companies to fund the analysis of their training was providing insufficient and missing data. A 2013 inspector general report said the agency “lacks comprehensive data to determine whether risk evaluation and mitigation strategies improve drug safety.” Furthermore, a 2016 FDA advisory committee “noted methodological concerns regarding these studies,” according to the authors, as CNN reported.
The study found that the agency is a ripe target for criticism after refusing to take swift and effective action as a crisis was growing.
“FDA has tools that could mitigate opioid risks more effectively if the agency would be more assertive in using its power to control opioid prescribing, manufacturing, and distribution,” said retired FDA senior executive William K. Hubbard in an editorial that accompanied the study, as CNN reported. “Instead of bold, effective action, the FDA has implemented the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy programs that … do not even meet the limited criteria set out by the FDA.”
Hubbard continued that the FDA has the ability to place tight restriction on opioid distribution, but it has dragged its feet in doing that, as CNN reported.
Other critics of the government’s response to opioid crisis echoed Hubbard’s sentiments. Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis, told The New York Times that the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy program was “a really good example of the way FDA has failed to regulate opioid manufacturers. If FDA had really been doing its job properly, I don’t believe we’d have an opioid crisis today.”
By Jordan Davidson | Creative Commons | EcoWatch


wakingtimes--2020-01-23--Illinois Police Once Threatened to Kill Their Dogs If Weed Was Legalized, and It Just Was

Illinois became the 11th state in the United States to legalize marijuana for recreational use this week , which is a change that police in the state have not been looking forward to .
Now that legalization is officially sanctioned by law , police aren ’ t going to have much of a choice but to go along with it .
Law enforcement administrators have said that they would honor the law , but while the policy was being debated , police representatives made some ridiculous statements in a desperate attempt to provoke fear of legalization and keep prohibition going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most absurd claims about the legalization of marijuana in the state of Illinois was the idea that police dogs would need to be euthanized if the policy changed .
Chad Larner , the training director of the K-9 Training Academy in Macon County , Illinois , said that the animals would need to be killed if marijuana was legalized because their police training would be useless , and they would be unsafe to integrate into the public .
Larner quickly retracted his statement after it made national headlines , saying that it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there would actually be many uses for the animals if they weren ’ t needed to bust marijuana users .
Still , Larner ’ s threats showed just how desperate the police were to keep the prohibition policies intact .
It also seemed to be somewhat of a coordinated effort between police in the state to spread this story , because the Pentagraph article where Larner ’ s comments were initially published also featured quotes from other officers who were making similar threats , such as Assistant Police Chief Steve Petrilli of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been overwhelming for the first day of marijuana sales in the state of Illinois .
In towns throughout the state , excited buyers were lined up around the block in front of cannabis storefronts .
Lt. Gov .
Juliana Stratton was even among the first customers in line to make a purchase on New Year ’ s Day .
Illinois has also integrated criminal justice reform into its legalization policy , having cleared 11,000 marijuana convictions , which will release thousands of nonviolent offenders from prison and clear their records so they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Illinois Police Once Threatened to Kill Their Dogs If Weed Was Legalized, and It Just Was
John Vibes, The Mind Unleashed
Waking Times
Illinois became the 11th state in the United States to legalize marijuana for recreational use this week, which is a change that police in the state have not been looking forward to.
Now that legalization is officially sanctioned by law, police aren’t going to have much of a choice but to go along with it. Law enforcement administrators have said that they would honor the law, but while the policy was being debated, police representatives made some ridiculous statements in a desperate attempt to provoke fear of legalization and keep prohibition going in the state. One of the most absurd claims about the legalization of marijuana in the state of Illinois was the idea that police dogs would need to be euthanized if the policy changed.
Chad Larner, the training director of the K-9 Training Academy in Macon County, Illinois, said that the animals would need to be killed if marijuana was legalized because their police training would be useless, and they would be unsafe to integrate into the public.
Larner quickly retracted his statement after it made national headlines, saying that it was a poor choice of words, admitting that there would actually be many uses for the animals if they weren’t needed to bust marijuana users.
Still, Larner’s threats showed just how desperate the police were to keep the prohibition policies intact. It also seemed to be somewhat of a coordinated effort between police in the state to spread this story, because the Pentagraph article where Larner’s comments were initially published also featured quotes from other officers who were making similar threats, such as Assistant Police Chief Steve Petrilli of the Normal Police Department.
Demand has been overwhelming for the first day of marijuana sales in the state of Illinois. In towns throughout the state, excited buyers were lined up around the block in front of cannabis storefronts.
First day weed is legal in Illinois & this is the line outside the Romeoville dispensary. I turned right tf back around 😂 pic.twitter.com/X7pBe2JfFQ — Cal Naughton Jr. (@BlGBOOF) January 1, 2020
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton was even among the first customers in line to make a purchase on New Year’s Day.
Illinois has also integrated criminal justice reform into its legalization policy, having cleared 11,000 marijuana convictions, which will release thousands of nonviolent offenders from prison and clear their records so they are not held back from employment opportunities.
By John Vibes | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com


wakingtimes--2020-01-23--The Palmer Raids: America’s Forgotten Reign of Terror

Exactly a hundred years ago this morning—on January 3 , 1920—Americans woke up to discover just how little their own government regarded the cherished Bill of Rights .
During the night , some 4,000 of their fellow citizens were rounded up and jailed for what amounted , in most cases , to no good reason at all and no due process , either .
Welcome to the story of the Palmer Raids , named for their instigator , Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer .
Though largely forgotten today , they shouldn ’ t be .
They constituted a horrific , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the lowest moments for liberty since King George III quartered troops in private homes .
The terror during the night of January 2-3 , 1920 , shocked and frightened many citizens .
In her 1971 book , America ’ s Reign of Terror : World War I , the Red Scare , and the Palmer Raids , Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht wrote : The targets of the Palmer raids were radicals and leftists deemed by the Wilson administration to be hostile to “ American values.
” Ironically , none of those arrested had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those values as the man living in the White House—Woodrow Wilson , arguably the worst of the country ’ s 45 presidents .
More on that and the Palmer Raids after some background .
This wasn ’ t the first time the government in Washington had trampled the Bill of Rights .
No less than the administration of John Adams , an American founding patriot , briefly shut down newspapers and dissenting opinion with its Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798 .
Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus and arrested thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The most immediate precedents for the Palmer Raids were wartime measures of the same administration just a few years before .
Wilson campaigned for re-election in 1916 on a boast that he had “ kept us out of war ” even as he authorized non-neutral aid for Britain and France .
He then feigned surprise when Germany declared unrestricted warfare on ships carrying supplies to its enemies .
It was the pretext for American entry into World War I in April 1917 .
America was formally at war for only a week when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( CPI ) .
Its job was to convince Americans the war was right and just .
A national venture in thought control , it bludgeoned the people with Wilson ’ s view until it became their view , as well .
It was government propaganda on a scale never before seen in the US , flooding the country with CPI-approved war news , speakers , school materials , posters , buttons , stickers—the works .
Wilson pushed hard for Congress to give him extraordinary powers to muzzle the media , insisting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ was absolutely necessary to public safety.
” According to Christopher M. Finan in his 2007 book , From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act : A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America , a blizzard of hostile editorials killed that in Congress , fortunately .
Wilson ’ s attorney general at the time , Thomas Watt Gregory , strongly encouraged Americans to spy on each other , to become “ volunteer detectives ” and report every suspicion to the Justice Department .
In a matter of months , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of disloyalty every single day .
Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson jumped into the cause with both feet , ordering that local postmasters send him any publications they discovered that might “ embarrass ” the government .
The Post Office began destroying certain mail instead of delivering it , even banning certain magazines altogether .
An issue of one periodical was outlawed for no more reason than it suggested the war be paid for by taxes instead of loans .
Others were forbidden because they criticized our allies , the British and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long after it ended , [ Burleson ] was the sole judge of which mailed publications Americans could or could not read , ” writes Feuerlicht .
Individuals were hauled into court for expressing reservations about Wilson or his war .
One of many examples involved one Reverend Clarence H. Waldron , who distributed a pamphlet claiming the war was un-Christian .
For that , he was sentenced to 15 years .
In another case , a filmmaker named Robert Goldstein earned a 10-year prison award for producing a movie about the American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His crime ?
Depicting the British in a negative light .
They were allies now , so that sort of thing was a no-no .
Of the roughly 2,000 people prosecuted under the Espionage and Sedition Acts , not a single one of them was a German spy .
They were all Americans whose thoughts or deeds ( almost none of them violent ) ran counter to those of the man in the big White House .
Hundreds were deported after minimal due process even though they were neither illegal immigrants nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ union activist , and presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs found himself crosswise with Wilson for opposing both the draft and the war .
In April 1919 , five months after the war ended , he was convicted of “ seditious ” speech , sentenced to ten years in prison , and denied the right to vote for the rest of his life .
Sometime later , when Debs heard that Wilson would refuse to pardon him , he poignantly responded , “ It is he [ Wilson ] , not I , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ digress for a moment on the Debs case because it brings to mind a current controversy .
President Trump was impeached by the House last month because he allegedly tried to cripple a political opponent by pushing for an investigation into that opponent ’ s possible corruption .
But there was hardly a peep from the media in 1919 , even though Debs ran for president four times before and would run yet again , and Wilson himself was flirting with the idea of running for a third term in 1920 .
Wilson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but Debs ran from his prison cell and garnered more than 900,000 votes .
Wilson never pardoned Debs , but Republican President Warren G. Harding did .
Hostilities in Europe ended in November 1918 , but the Wilson administration ’ s assault on civil rights continued .
With the Germans vanquished , the new pretext to bully Americans became known as the “ Red Scare ” —the notion that communists under the influence of the new Leninist regime in Moscow were the big threat in the country .
Meantime , in March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general—A .
Mitchell Palmer—who was determined to tackle it one way or another , especially after two attempted bombings of his home .
Palmer was just what Wilson was looking for : “ young , militant , progressive and fearless , ” in the president ’ s own words .
The first of the two biggest Palmer Raids occurred on November 7 , 1919 .
With Palmer ’ s newly appointed deputy J. Edgar Hoover spearheading the operation , federal agents scooped up hundreds of alleged radicals , subversives , communists , anarchists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immigrants in 12 cities—some 650 in New York City alone .
Beatings , even in police stations , were not uncommon .
He pointed to a few bombings as evidence that the sedition problem was huge and required “ decisive ” action .
January 2 , 1920—when the largest and most aggressive batch of Palmer Raids was carried out—was a night of terror : about 4,000 arrests across 23 states , often without legitimate search warrants and with the arrestees frequently tossed into makeshift jails in substandard conditions .
Leftists and leftist organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to their meeting halls were caught up in the dragnet .
No friend of liberty then or now , The Washington Post opined , “ There is no time to waste on hairsplitting over infringement of liberties.
” A few smaller raids were conducted , but nothing on the scale of January 2-3 .
Palmer thought he would ride the Red Scare into the White House , but he lost his bid for the Democratic Party ’ s nomination later that year .
Meantime , the courts largely nullified his dirty work .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ history .
In the fall , the Democrats lost big as Republican Warren Harding ushered in “ an era of normalcy.
” It ’ s hard to find any lingering trace of the “ subversive ” work the Palmer Raids were ostensibly intended to combat .
Thousands were arrested when actual crimes were committed by a relative few .
Certainly , none of the arrested Americans gave us a progressive income tax or a central bank or violations of free speech and due process .
It was Woodrow Wilson and his friends who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more mischief .
Let us remember the Palmer Raids and the administration that carried them out as black marks against American liberty , hopefully never to be repeated .
Lawrence W. Reed is President Emeritus , Humphreys Family Senior Fellow , and Ron Manners Ambassador for Global Liberty at the Foundation for Economic Education .
He is also author of Real Heroes : Incredible True Stories of Courage , Character , and Conviction and Excuse Me , Professor : Challenging the Myths of Progressivism .
Follow on Twitter and Like on Facebook .

The Palmer Raids: America’s Forgotten Reign of Terror
Lawrence W. Reed, Guest
Waking Times
Exactly a hundred years ago this morning—on January 3, 1920—Americans woke up to discover just how little their own government regarded the cherished Bill of Rights. During the night, some 4,000 of their fellow citizens were rounded up and jailed for what amounted, in most cases, to no good reason at all and no due process, either.
Welcome to the story of the Palmer Raids, named for their instigator, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Though largely forgotten today, they shouldn’t be. They constituted a horrific, shameful episode in American history, one of the lowest moments for liberty since King George III quartered troops in private homes.
The terror during the night of January 2-3, 1920, shocked and frightened many citizens. In her 1971 book, America’s Reign of Terror: World War I, the Red Scare, and the Palmer Raids, Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht wrote:
[T]error is not just a body count. Terror exists when a person can be sentenced to years in prison for an idle remark; when people are pulled out of their beds and arrested; when 4,000 persons are seized in a single night; and when arrests and searches are made without warrants. Moreover, for each person sent to prison for his views, many others were silenced. The author amply documents the government’s insensitivity to civil liberties during this period, its frequent brutality and callousness, and the personal grief that ensued.
The targets of the Palmer raids were radicals and leftists deemed by the Wilson administration to be hostile to “American values.” Ironically, none of those arrested had done anywhere near as much harm to those values as the man living in the White House—Woodrow Wilson, arguably the worst of the country’s 45 presidents. More on that and the Palmer Raids after some background.
A War on Democracy
This wasn’t the first time the government in Washington had trampled the Bill of Rights. No less than the administration of John Adams, an American founding patriot, briefly shut down newspapers and dissenting opinion with its Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798. Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus and arrested thousands of political opponents in Northern states.
The most immediate precedents for the Palmer Raids were wartime measures of the same administration just a few years before. Wilson campaigned for re-election in 1916 on a boast that he had “kept us out of war” even as he authorized non-neutral aid for Britain and France. He then feigned surprise when Germany declared unrestricted warfare on ships carrying supplies to its enemies. It was the pretext for American entry into World War I in April 1917.
“Wars are dirty but crusades are holy,” writes Feuerlicht, “so Wilson turned the war into a crusade.” The conflict became “the war to end all wars” and a war “to make the world safe for democracy” while the president made war on democracy at home.
America was formally at war for only a week when Wilson created the Committee on Public Information (CPI). Its job was to convince Americans the war was right and just. A national venture in thought control, it bludgeoned the people with Wilson’s view until it became their view, as well. It was government propaganda on a scale never before seen in the US, flooding the country with CPI-approved war news, speakers, school materials, posters, buttons, stickers—the works.
Two months later, under intense pressure from the White House, Congress passed the Espionage Act. Any person who made “false reports or false statements with intent to interfere” with the official war effort could be punished with 20 years in jail or a fine of $10,000 (at least a quarter-million in today’s dollars), or both. It was amended in May 1918 by the Sedition Act, which made it a crime to write or speak anything “disloyal or abusive” about the government, the Constitution, the flag, or a US military uniform.
Wilson pushed hard for Congress to give him extraordinary powers to muzzle the media, insisting to The New York Times that press censorship “was absolutely necessary to public safety.” According to Christopher M. Finan in his 2007 book, From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America, a blizzard of hostile editorials killed that in Congress, fortunately.
Wilson’s attorney general at the time, Thomas Watt Gregory, strongly encouraged Americans to spy on each other, to become “volunteer detectives” and report every suspicion to the Justice Department. In a matter of months, the department was receiving about 1,500 accusations of disloyalty every single day.
Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson jumped into the cause with both feet, ordering that local postmasters send him any publications they discovered that might “embarrass” the government. The Post Office began destroying certain mail instead of delivering it, even banning certain magazines altogether. An issue of one periodical was outlawed for no more reason than it suggested the war be paid for by taxes instead of loans. Others were forbidden because they criticized our allies, the British and the French. “Throughout the war and long after it ended, [Burleson] was the sole judge of which mailed publications Americans could or could not read,” writes Feuerlicht.
Individuals were hauled into court for expressing reservations about Wilson or his war. One of many examples involved one Reverend Clarence H. Waldron, who distributed a pamphlet claiming the war was un-Christian. For that, he was sentenced to 15 years. In another case, a filmmaker named Robert Goldstein earned a 10-year prison award for producing a movie about the American Revolution, The Spirit of ’76. His crime? Depicting the British in a negative light. They were allies now, so that sort of thing was a no-no.
Of the roughly 2,000 people prosecuted under the Espionage and Sedition Acts, not a single one of them was a German spy. They were all Americans whose thoughts or deeds (almost none of them violent) ran counter to those of the man in the big White House. Hundreds were deported after minimal due process even though they were neither illegal immigrants nor convicted criminals.
The famous socialist, union activist, and presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs found himself crosswise with Wilson for opposing both the draft and the war. In April 1919, five months after the war ended, he was convicted of “seditious” speech, sentenced to ten years in prison, and denied the right to vote for the rest of his life. Sometime later, when Debs heard that Wilson would refuse to pardon him, he poignantly responded, “It is he [Wilson], not I, who needs a pardon.”
A Night of Terror
Allow me to digress for a moment on the Debs case because it brings to mind a current controversy. President Trump was impeached by the House last month because he allegedly tried to cripple a political opponent by pushing for an investigation into that opponent’s possible corruption. But there was hardly a peep from the media in 1919, even though Debs ran for president four times before and would run yet again, and Wilson himself was flirting with the idea of running for a third term in 1920.
Wilson’s health eventually precluded another run, but Debs ran from his prison cell and garnered more than 900,000 votes. Wilson never pardoned Debs, but Republican President Warren G. Harding did.
Hostilities in Europe ended in November 1918, but the Wilson administration’s assault on civil rights continued. With the Germans vanquished, the new pretext to bully Americans became known as the “Red Scare”—the notion that communists under the influence of the new Leninist regime in Moscow were the big threat in the country.
Meantime, in March 1919, Wilson hired a new attorney general—A. Mitchell Palmer—who was determined to tackle it one way or another, especially after two attempted bombings of his home. Palmer was just what Wilson was looking for: “young, militant, progressive and fearless,” in the president’s own words.
The first of the two biggest Palmer Raids occurred on November 7, 1919. With Palmer’s newly appointed deputy J. Edgar Hoover spearheading the operation, federal agents scooped up hundreds of alleged radicals, subversives, communists, anarchists, and “undesirable” but legal immigrants in 12 cities—some 650 in New York City alone. Beatings, even in police stations, were not uncommon.
Palmer later said,
If . . . some of my agents out in the field . . . were a little rough and unkind, or short and curt, with these alien agitators . . . I think it might well be overlooked.
He pointed to a few bombings as evidence that the sedition problem was huge and required “decisive” action.
January 2, 1920—when the largest and most aggressive batch of Palmer Raids was carried out—was a night of terror: about 4,000 arrests across 23 states, often without legitimate search warrants and with the arrestees frequently tossed into makeshift jails in substandard conditions.
Leftists and leftist organizations were the targets, but even visitors to their meeting halls were caught up in the dragnet. No friend of liberty then or now, The Washington Post opined, “There is no time to waste on hairsplitting over infringement of liberties.” A few smaller raids were conducted, but nothing on the scale of January 2-3.
Palmer thought he would ride the Red Scare into the White House, but he lost his bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination later that year. Meantime, the courts largely nullified his dirty work. By June 1920, the raids were history. In the fall, the Democrats lost big as Republican Warren Harding ushered in “an era of normalcy.”
It’s hard to find any lingering trace of the “subversive” work the Palmer Raids were ostensibly intended to combat. Thousands were arrested when actual crimes were committed by a relative few. Certainly, none of the arrested Americans gave us a progressive income tax or a central bank or violations of free speech and due process. It was Woodrow Wilson and his friends who gave us all that, and much more mischief.
Let us remember the Palmer Raids and the administration that carried them out as black marks against American liberty, hopefully never to be repeated.
About the Author
Lawrence W. Reed is President Emeritus, Humphreys Family Senior Fellow, and Ron Manners Ambassador for Global Liberty at the Foundation for Economic Education. He is also author of Real Heroes: Incredible True Stories of Courage, Character, and Conviction and Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism. Follow on Twitter and Like on Facebook.


wakingtimes--2020-01-23--Look WHO’s Talking! Vaccine Scientists Confirm Major Safety Problems

Rarely does the general public get to hear what vaccine scientists and public health officials really think about vaccines .
Instead , the simplistic ( and propagandistic ) mantra aired ad infinitum for public consumption is that vaccines are “ safe and effective ” —full stop .
As the transcripts from the secret Simpsonwood meeting revealed two decades ago , however , when the experts are among themselves , they tell a different story—and , as a new behind-closed-doors video powerfully reveals , they are still far from convinced of their own safety message .
What did this crème de @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during their two-day powwow ?
Among other discussion points , attendees admitted that : • The design of safety studies makes it difficult to spot problems .
Every single one of these revelations—startling mostly because of who was caught on camera saying it— referred to problems that Children ’ s Health Defense and other vaccine-risk-aware organizations and individuals have been reporting on for years .
Not quite a year ago , Indian pediatrician Dr. Soumya Swaminathan stepped into the newly created and prominent position of WHO Chief Scientist , moving up from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At the December vaccine summit , she admitted : Dr. Swaminathan acknowledged that the vaccine community ought to be prepared to provide “ a very factual account of what exactly has happened and what the cause of the deaths are ” ; astoundingly , however , she conceded that “ in most cases there is some obfuscation ” —with the result that “ there ’ s less and less trust .
.
.
in the system.
” Indian physicians have furnished examples of just such “ obfuscation , ” showing , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 96 % of deaths in Indian infants who had just received pentavalent vaccines as either coincidental or unclassifiable .
What earned Dr. Swaminathan a place at the WHO vaccine table , when she is primarily known for her research and programmatic work on tuberculosis ?
It turns out that she has been an enthusiastic cheerleader for expanding human papillomavirus ( HPV ) vaccination in India .
In early 2018 , the Indian government decided against including the HPV vaccine in India ’ s Universal Immunization Program , swayed by feedback from India ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ split over the vaccine ’ s use ” ) and by the concerns of the influential Hindu organization RSS , which argued that adding the HPV vaccine would “ divert scarce resources from more worthwhile health initiatives diverting it to this vaccine of doubtful utility and that its adverse effects will erode confidence in the national immunisation programme.
” Ignoring these concerns as well as HPV vaccines ’ disastrous global track record , Swaminathan—speaking on behalf of WHO—promptly urged India to reconsider .
In late 2019 , she joined other authors in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ a few deaths ” in HPV vaccine demonstration projects in two Indian states while praising the “ successful introduction ” and safety of HPV vaccination in two other states .
Several WHO summit speakers described the lack of “ good science ” and the inability of vaccine clinical trials to provide meaningful information about safety and risk .
Describing the “ tyranny of small numbers ” and the “ relatively small sample sizes ” typical of vaccine clinical trials , for example , Dr. David Kaslow characterized these features as “ a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for solving it .
This , despite being Director of the Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access at PATH ( a Seattle-based global health organization ) , holding over a dozen vaccine-related patents and having a quarter-century of experience in vaccine research and development at PATH , the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Merck and the National Institutes of Health .
Dr. Marion Gruber , Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ’ s ( FDA ’ s ) Office of Vaccines Research and Review , with “ over 20 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approval of .
.
.
vaccines and related biologics , ” unblushingly agreed that vaccine pre-licensure clinical trials “ may not be powered enough ” ( meaning they are too small to detect statistically significant effects ) and that the generally inadequate follow-up of trial participants “ complicates safety evaluation.
” Presumably , Gruber could spearhead the design of more useful pre-licensure studies in her capacity as the senior official responsible for research “ pertaining to the development , manufacturing and testing of vaccines ” —but , like Kaslow , she apparently had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s squalid history of approving vaccines tested without placebos and often with only a few days of follow-up—and its encouragement of off-license use of vaccines in pregnant women—cast doubts on Gruber ’ s sincerity in raising these issues .
Dr. Robert Chen is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and currently directs the Task Force for Global Health ’ s Brighton Collaboration .
Chen ’ s webpage credits him with decades-long efforts to “ create the vaccine safety infrastructure needed to meet the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programs where adverse events are more prominent than the nearly eliminated ” vaccine-preventable diseases—yet at the WHO summit , he declared that safety monitoring databases remain incapable of “ teasing out ” vital information such as details about manufacturers and lot numbers .
Dr. Swaminathan chimed in that “ we really don ’ t have very good safety monitoring systems in many countries.
” WHO summit attendees had numerous comments about vaccine adjuvants—none of them reassuring .
For example , the Coordinator of the WHO ’ s Initiative for Vaccine Research ( Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We do not add adjuvants to vaccines because we want to do so ” but because vaccines will not “ work ” without them .
Friede , who held “ several senior management positions in the vaccine industry ” prior to moving to WHO , added : Friede also noted that the “ primary concern ” with vaccine adjuvants is systemic adverse events : “ The major health concern which we are seeing are accusations of long term .
.
.
effects.
” Friede then passed the baton back to regulators such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characterized “ safety and effectiveness evaluation of adjuvants combined with vaccine antigens ” as “ complicated.
” One of the few attendees to articulate vaccine safety issues from the child ’ s standpoint was Dr. Bassey Okposen , a Program Manager for Nigeria ’ s vaccine program .
Okposen had celebrated Nigeria ’ s “ high immunisation coverage ” in 2018 , but at the 2019 WHO meeting , he ventured to ask whether vaccines containing “ different antigens from different companies ” and “ different adjuvants and different preservatives and so on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” —wondering aloud whether “ the possibility of cross-reactions ” had ever been studied .
In fact , toxicologists are keenly aware that individual toxins have synergistic effects when combined , but vaccine researchers seem uninterested .
Nor have the domestic or international vaccine communities ever been forthright about the lack of research on “ key elements of the entire [ childhood vaccine ] schedule—the number , frequency , timing , order , and age at administration of vaccines.
” The WHO may wish to draw attention to and scapegoat those who exhibit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global cadre of vaccine experts has only itself to blame .
As Professor Heidi Larson stated to her peers at the WHO summit , the crisis of confidence is now extending to “ a very wobbly health professional front line that is [ also ] starting to question vaccines and the safety of vaccines.
” Larson directs a slick program designed to restore vaccine confidence , but she was the first to acknowledge that “ You can ’ t repurpose the same old science to make it sound better if you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relevant to the new problem.
” We might add that the “ same old science ” never was terribly good to begin with .
[ Note : The WHO appears to have removed its web page listing “ vaccine hesitancy ” as a top global health threat for 2019 .
Up until January 14 , 2020 , the list of global health threats was available at https : //www.who.int/emergencies/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019 . ]
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Vaccine Scientists Confirm Major Safety Problems
Children’s Health Defense Team, Guest
Waking Times
Rarely does the general public get to hear what vaccine scientists and public health officials really think about vaccines. Instead, the simplistic (and propagandistic) mantra aired ad infinitum for public consumption is that vaccines are “safe and effective”—full stop. As the transcripts from the secret Simpsonwood meeting revealed two decades ago, however, when the experts are among themselves, they tell a different story—and, as a new behind-closed-doors video powerfully reveals, they are still far from convinced of their own safety message.
The bombshell video footage, published by Del Bigtree’s The Highwire, captures a series of statements—profoundly unsettling in their matter-of-factness—made by professionals who, in early December, attended the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) two-day Global Vaccine Safety Summit. The summit’s aims were to “take stock of [the] accomplishments” of WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) and work toward finalizing the agency’s Global Vaccine Safety Blueprint 2.0 strategy 2021-2030. Attendees included GACVS members (past and present), vaccine program managers, regulatory authorities, drug safety staff, “and representatives of UN agencies, academic institutions, umbrella organizations of pharmaceutical companies, technical partners, industry representatives and funding agencies.”
What did this crème de la crème of the vaccine establishment say during their two-day powwow? Among other discussion points, attendees admitted that:
Vaccines can be fatal.
The design of safety studies makes it difficult to spot problems.
Safety monitoring is inadequate.
Vaccine adjuvants increase risk.
Every single one of these revelations—startling mostly because of who was caught on camera saying it— referred to problems that Children’s Health Defense and other vaccine-risk-aware organizations and individuals have been reporting on for years.
[W]e’re not able to give clear-cut answers when people ask questions about the deaths that have occurred due to a particular vaccine …
Fatal vaccines
Not quite a year ago, Indian pediatrician Dr. Soumya Swaminathan stepped into the newly created and prominent position of WHO Chief Scientist, moving up from a stint as WHO Deputy Director-General of Programs. At the December vaccine summit, she admitted:
[W]e’re not able to give clear-cut answers when people ask questions about the deaths that have occurred due to a particular vaccine, and this always gets blown up in the media.
Dr. Swaminathan acknowledged that the vaccine community ought to be prepared to provide “a very factual account of what exactly has happened and what the cause of the deaths are”; astoundingly, however, she conceded that “in most cases there is some obfuscation”—with the result that “there’s less and less trust . . . in the system.” Indian physicians have furnished examples of just such “obfuscation,” showing, for example, how a national committee attributed 96% of deaths in Indian infants who had just received pentavalent vaccines as either coincidental or unclassifiable.
What earned Dr. Swaminathan a place at the WHO vaccine table, when she is primarily known for her research and programmatic work on tuberculosis? It turns out that she has been an enthusiastic cheerleader for expanding human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in India. In early 2018, the Indian government decided against including the HPV vaccine in India’s Universal Immunization Program, swayed by feedback from India’s medical community (which is “split over the vaccine’s use”) and by the concerns of the influential Hindu organization RSS, which argued that adding the HPV vaccine would “divert scarce resources from more worthwhile health initiatives diverting it to this vaccine of doubtful utility and that its adverse effects will erode confidence in the national immunisation programme.” Ignoring these concerns as well as HPV vaccines’ disastrous global track record, Swaminathan—speaking on behalf of WHO—promptly urged India to reconsider. In late 2019, she joined other authors in a Lancet Oncology article that made light of “a few deaths” in HPV vaccine demonstration projects in two Indian states while praising the “successful introduction” and safety of HPV vaccination in two other states.
… agreed that vaccine pre-licensure clinical trials may not be powered enough (meaning they are too small to detect statistically significant effects) and that the generally inadequate follow-up of trial participants complicates safety evaluation.
Flawed safety studies
Several WHO summit speakers described the lack of “good science” and the inability of vaccine clinical trials to provide meaningful information about safety and risk. Describing the “tyranny of small numbers” and the “relatively small sample sizes” typical of vaccine clinical trials, for example, Dr. David Kaslow characterized these features as “a real conundrum” but offered no suggestions for solving it. This, despite being Director of the Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access at PATH (a Seattle-based global health organization), holding over a dozen vaccine-related patents and having a quarter-century of experience in vaccine research and development at PATH, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck and the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Marion Gruber, Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Office of Vaccines Research and Review, with “over 20 years of experience in the regulatory review and approval of . . . vaccines and related biologics,” unblushingly agreed that vaccine pre-licensure clinical trials “may not be powered enough” (meaning they are too small to detect statistically significant effects) and that the generally inadequate follow-up of trial participants “complicates safety evaluation.” Presumably, Gruber could spearhead the design of more useful pre-licensure studies in her capacity as the senior official responsible for research “pertaining to the development, manufacturing and testing of vaccines”—but, like Kaslow, she apparently had no solutions to propose. The FDA’s squalid history of approving vaccines tested without placebos and often with only a few days of follow-up—and its encouragement of off-license use of vaccines in pregnant women—cast doubts on Gruber’s sincerity in raising these issues.
Inadequate safety monitoring
Dr. Robert Chen is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and currently directs the Task Force for Global Health’s Brighton Collaboration. Chen’s webpage credits him with decades-long efforts to “create the vaccine safety infrastructure needed to meet the ‘post-modern’ challenges of mature immunization programs where adverse events are more prominent than the nearly eliminated” vaccine-preventable diseases—yet at the WHO summit, he declared that safety monitoring databases remain incapable of “teasing out” vital information such as details about manufacturers and lot numbers. Dr. Swaminathan chimed in that “we really don’t have very good safety monitoring systems in many countries.”
…the first lesson is, while you’re making your vaccine, if you can avoid using an adjuvant, please do so.
Risky adjuvants
WHO summit attendees had numerous comments about vaccine adjuvants—none of them reassuring. For example, the Coordinator of the WHO’s Initiative for Vaccine Research (Dr. Martin Howell Friede) remarked, “We do not add adjuvants to vaccines because we want to do so” but because vaccines will not “work” without them. Friede, who held “several senior management positions in the vaccine industry” prior to moving to WHO, added:
I give courses every year on “How do you develop vaccines?” “How do you make vaccines?” And the first lesson is, while you’re making your vaccine, if you can avoid using an adjuvant, please do so. Lesson two is, if you’re going to use an adjuvant, use one that has a history of safety. And lesson three is, if you’re not going to do that, think very carefully.
Friede also noted that the “primary concern” with vaccine adjuvants is systemic adverse events: “The major health concern which we are seeing are accusations of long term . . . effects.” Friede then passed the baton back to regulators such as the FDA’s Gruber, who characterized “safety and effectiveness evaluation of adjuvants combined with vaccine antigens” as “complicated.”
Nor have the domestic or international vaccine communities ever been forthright about the lack of research on key elements of the entire [childhood vaccine] schedule—the number, frequency, timing, order, and age at administration of vaccines.
Vote of no confidence—for good reason
One of the few attendees to articulate vaccine safety issues from the child’s standpoint was Dr. Bassey Okposen, a Program Manager for Nigeria’s vaccine program. Okposen had celebrated Nigeria’s “high immunisation coverage” in 2018, but at the 2019 WHO meeting, he ventured to ask whether vaccines containing “different antigens from different companies” and “different adjuvants and different preservatives and so on” could be “cross-reacting amongst themselves”—wondering aloud whether “the possibility of cross-reactions” had ever been studied. In fact, toxicologists are keenly aware that individual toxins have synergistic effects when combined, but vaccine researchers seem uninterested. Nor have the domestic or international vaccine communities ever been forthright about the lack of research on “key elements of the entire [childhood vaccine] schedule—the number, frequency, timing, order, and age at administration of vaccines.”
The WHO may wish to draw attention to and scapegoat those who exhibit “vaccine hesitancy,” but the global cadre of vaccine experts has only itself to blame. As Professor Heidi Larson stated to her peers at the WHO summit, the crisis of confidence is now extending to “a very wobbly health professional front line that is [also] starting to question vaccines and the safety of vaccines.” Larson directs a slick program designed to restore vaccine confidence, but she was the first to acknowledge that “You can’t repurpose the same old science to make it sound better if you don’t have the science that’s relevant to the new problem.” We might add that the “same old science” never was terribly good to begin with.
[Note: The WHO appears to have removed its web page listing “vaccine hesitancy” as a top global health threat for 2019. Up until January 14, 2020, the list of global health threats was available at http://www.who.int/emergencies/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019.]


wakingtimes--2020-01-24--Just 3% of What the US Spends Destroying Countries Could End Starvation—On the Entire Planet

It was reported this week that the Pentagon made $ 35 trillion — with a ‘ T ’ — in accounting adjustments in 2019 alone .
That number is larger than the entire U.S. economy and is up from $ 30.7 trillion in 2018 .
The figure also dwarfs the Congressional approved military budget of $ 738 billion .
Naturally , no one cares and Pentagon officials dismiss this black hole of spending as accounting errors .
This problem is only getting worse too .
As Bloomberg reported , the Defense Department acknowledged that it failed its first-ever audit in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it reviewed $ 2.7 trillion in assets and $ 2.6 trillion in liabilities .
Despite the shame of failing—twice—the accounting “ errors ” have grown .
Imagine running a company in which you accounted for spending like they do at the Pentagon .
If you were the CFO , you ’ d be fired , if and only if the entire business didn ’ t already collapse .
However , because these morons have an unlimited pool of tax revenue and Federal Reserve dollars from which to draw resources , they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toward unsustainable debt and spending .
In the meantime , Democrats and Republicans alike remain silent as questioning the military industrial complex is akin to a thought crime .
The war machine must go on and continue to expand or else they ’ ll find themselves out of a job .
The majority of Americans follow the same code of silence when it comes to military spending .
Boobus Americanus sits back in his recliner as his grandchildren ’ s future is squandered by mass murderers dropping million dollar bombs on people living @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the planet — for ‘ freedom ’ — of course .
Despite audits and scrutiny from those paying attention , the Pentagon has only continued to lose money by the trillions since 9/11 , and a report analyzing the budgets of the Department of Defense ( DoD ) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ) shows that the total is more than $ 21 trillion .
The report attributes the missing funds to a series of “ unsupported journal voucher adjustments ” made to the departments ’ budgets .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ accounting transactions , but they are often included in account summaries to cover for balances between systems that can not be reconciled .
As The Free Thought Project has reported , not only is it likely that the actual amount of money the DoD and HUD can not account for is much higher than $ 21 trillion , due to the fact that researchers did not have access to complete data , but the practice of creating counterfeit adjustments appears to be standard procedure .
“ Perhaps even more troubling than the total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behavior from HUD and DOD seem to be the standard operating procedure .
In fact , the accounting for these funds is so poor , that as Reuters notes , the Defense Finance and Accounting Services ( DFAS ) refers to the preparation of the Army ’ s year-end statements as ‘ the grand plug ’ — ‘ plug ’ is accounting jargon for the insertion of made-up numbers .
For every transaction , a so-called ‘ journal voucher ’ that provides serial numbers , transaction dates and the amount of the expenditure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report specifies that the agency has done such a poor job in providing documentation of their transactions , that there is no way to actually know how $ 21 trillion has been spent.
” The problem is so bad , that these warmongers have ‘ lost ’ $ 58,386 per second since 9/11 .
Those of us not blinded by the propaganda and false patriotism , see the inevitable results of such a propensity for supporting war .
We see domestic infrastructure crumbling , a national debt increasing by record amounts each year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and countless veterans suffering from PTSD .
When will it all end ?
At this pace , it won ’ t end until the empire falls .
Luckily , there are people waging a campaign to prevent further war and subsequent deficit spending .
They are paying to put up billboards showing just how much of your money the US steals to blow up brown people in foreign countries .
The group is World Beyond War and their efforts are massive .
For the last several years , they ’ ve been putting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
One of them can be seen below .
They back these numbers up with data on their website , pointing out that in 2008 , the United Nations said that $ 30 billion per year could end hunger on earth , as reported in the New York Times , Los Angeles Times , and many other outlets .
The Food and Agriculture Organization has not updated that figure since 2008 , and has recently told us that such figures do not require much updating .
In a separate report , most recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provides a figure of $ 265 billion as the cost per year for 15 years to permanently eliminate extreme poverty , which would eliminate starvation and malnutrition — a broader project than just preventing starvation one year at a time .
The FAO ’ s spokesperson informed us in an email : “ I think it would be incorrect to compare the two figures as the 265 billion has been calculated taking into consideration a number of initiatives including social protection cash transfers aimed at extracting people from extreme poverty and not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ annual Pentagon base budget , plus war budget , plus nuclear weapons in the Department of Energy , plus Homeland Security and other military spending totaled well over $ 1 trillion — not counting what ’ s “ lost.
” So , 3 % of U.S. military spending could end starvation on earth .
So , 22 percent of U.S. military spending for 15 years could permanently end extreme poverty globally .
With the globe spending roughly $ 2 trillion per year on militarism ( roughly half of it by the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.5 % of GLOBAL military spending could end starvation on earth .
Are you ready to end all war yet ?
We are .
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA .
This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state .
Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world .
Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Twitter , Steemit , and now on Minds .

Just 3% of What the US Spends Destroying Countries Could End Starvation—On the Entire Planet
Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project
Waking Times
It was reported this week that the Pentagon made $35 trillion — with a ‘T’ — in accounting adjustments in 2019 alone. That number is larger than the entire U.S. economy and is up from $30.7 trillion in 2018. The figure also dwarfs the Congressional approved military budget of $738 billion. Naturally, no one cares and Pentagon officials dismiss this black hole of spending as accounting errors.
“Within that $30 trillion is a lot of double, triple, and quadruple counting of the same money as it got moved between accounts,” said Todd Harrison, a Pentagon budget expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The “combined errors, shorthand, and sloppy record-keeping by DoD accountants do add up to a number nearly 1.5 times the size of the U.S. economy,” said Representative Jackie Speier, who asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate. The report shows the Pentagon “employs accounting adjustments like a contractor paints over mold. Their priority is making the situation look manageable, not solving the underlying problem,” she said.
This problem is only getting worse too. As Bloomberg reported, the Defense Department acknowledged that it failed its first-ever audit in 2018 and then again last year, when it reviewed $2.7 trillion in assets and $2.6 trillion in liabilities. Despite the shame of failing—twice—the accounting “errors” have grown.
Imagine running a company in which you accounted for spending like they do at the Pentagon. If you were the CFO, you’d be fired, if and only if the entire business didn’t already collapse. However, because these morons have an unlimited pool of tax revenue and Federal Reserve dollars from which to draw resources, they are allowed to continue down this unaccountable path toward unsustainable debt and spending.
In the meantime, Democrats and Republicans alike remain silent as questioning the military industrial complex is akin to a thought crime. The war machine must go on and continue to expand or else they’ll find themselves out of a job. The majority of Americans follow the same code of silence when it comes to military spending. Boobus Americanus sits back in his recliner as his grandchildren’s future is squandered by mass murderers dropping million dollar bombs on people living in tents on the other side of the planet — for ‘freedom’ — of course.
Despite audits and scrutiny from those paying attention, the Pentagon has only continued to lose money by the trillions since 9/11, and a report analyzing the budgets of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shows that the total is more than $21 trillion.
The report attributes the missing funds to a series of “unsupported journal voucher adjustments” made to the departments’ budgets. These adjustments are not tied to specific accounting transactions, but they are often included in account summaries to cover for balances between systems that cannot be reconciled.
As The Free Thought Project has reported, not only is it likely that the actual amount of money the DoD and HUD cannot account for is much higher than $21 trillion, due to the fact that researchers did not have access to complete data, but the practice of creating counterfeit adjustments appears to be standard procedure.
“Perhaps even more troubling than the total amount lost is the fact that fraudulent behavior from HUD and DOD seem to be the standard operating procedure. In fact, the accounting for these funds is so poor, that as Reuters notes, the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) refers to the preparation of the Army’s year-end statements as ‘the grand plug’ — ‘plug’ is accounting jargon for the insertion of made-up numbers. For every transaction, a so-called ‘journal voucher’ that provides serial numbers, transaction dates and the amount of the expenditure is supposed to be produced. The report specifies that the agency has done such a poor job in providing documentation of their transactions, that there is no way to actually know how $21 trillion has been spent.”
The problem is so bad, that these warmongers have ‘lost’ $58,386 per second since 9/11.
Those of us not blinded by the propaganda and false patriotism, see the inevitable results of such a propensity for supporting war. We see domestic infrastructure crumbling, a national debt increasing by record amounts each year, more conflict around the globe, and countless veterans suffering from PTSD. When will it all end? At this pace, it won’t end until the empire falls.
Luckily, there are people waging a campaign to prevent further war and subsequent deficit spending. They are paying to put up billboards showing just how much of your money the US steals to blow up brown people in foreign countries. The group is World Beyond War and their efforts are massive. For the last several years, they’ve been putting up powerful billboards all over the country. One of them can be seen below.
They back these numbers up with data on their website, pointing out that in 2008, the United Nations said that $30 billion per year could end hunger on earth, as reported in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and many other outlets. The Food and Agriculture Organization has not updated that figure since 2008, and has recently told us that such figures do not require much updating. In a separate report, most recently published in 2015, the same organization provides a figure of $265 billion as the cost per year for 15 years to permanently eliminate extreme poverty, which would eliminate starvation and malnutrition — a broader project than just preventing starvation one year at a time. The FAO’s spokesperson informed us in an email: “I think it would be incorrect to compare the two figures as the 265 billion has been calculated taking into consideration a number of initiatives including social protection cash transfers aimed at extracting people from extreme poverty and not just hunger.”
As of 2019, the annual Pentagon base budget, plus war budget, plus nuclear weapons in the Department of Energy, plus Homeland Security and other military spending totaled well over $1 trillion — not counting what’s “lost.”
3% of $1 trillion = $30 billion.
So, 3% of U.S. military spending could end starvation on earth.
22% of $1.2 trillion = $265 billion.
So, 22 percent of U.S. military spending for 15 years could permanently end extreme poverty globally.
With the globe spending roughly $2 trillion per year on militarism (roughly half of it by the United States), we can also say that 1.5% of GLOBAL military spending could end starvation on earth.
Are you ready to end all war yet? We are.
About the Author
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.


wakingtimes--2020-01-24--State Forces Citizens to Pay for ‘Stargazing Permit’ to View Night Sky in Public Parks—Yes, Really

New York — In the Land of the Free , if you do not pay the State in the form of a permit before you attempt to sell a product or service to a willing customer , you can and will be extorted , kidnapped and caged , with extreme prejudice .
While many folks stand behind permits for selling , one permit in New York that has nothing to do with commerce , has garnered the scrutiny of the Free thought Project .
If citizens of the state wish to look up at the sky and view the stars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public parks , they will first have to obtain a “ Stargazing permit.
” Seriously .
Light pollution across the state of New York makes it hard for folks in highly populated areas to view the night sky .
So , people who wish to gaze upon the stars at night have to drive many miles away to remote areas .
Many of these remote areas are located in taxpayer-funded state parks .
In their efforts to squeeze every dime they can from the tax farm , bureaucrats in New York have devised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to use public parks to gaze upon the night sky .
This extortion comes in the form of a $ 35.00 “ Stargazing Permit.
” If you are from out of state and wish to gaze upon the night sky from one of these locations that fee jumps to $ 60 .
But that ’ s not all , if you want to bring your metal detector to any of these parks , there ’ s a permit for that too—it ’ s $ 40 to passively scan the ground in search of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducting a news search on Google for a stargazing permit , we couldn ’ t find any articles calling out this ridiculous assault on liberty , so we decided to take up that task ourselves .
We did find a discussion on Twitter , however , in which Neil deGrasse Tyson even chimed in .
We should also point out the obvious limits this places on underprivileged residents who may have to choose between $ 35 in groceries versus paying the state to look up at the stars in a public park .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that much to some folks , to others it ’ s the difference between sleeping with the heat on or freezing .
It also serves to drastically limit the imagination and discovery of those who are unable to pay for the permit by disallowing them access to these remote dark areas .
Others are defending the permit in the thread , claiming that it allows people to enter the “ closed parks ” after hours .
But they are clearly missing the point .
If you can enter the park with a permit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed ” at all .
It ’ s opened to anyone willing to be extorted or who can afford it .
Those who are unable to pay the government or choose not to do so for the exact same activity will be arrested and or further extorted .
Now for the irony and blatant statist hypocrisy .
If you want to go after dark to look at stars on state land that you paid for through your tax dollars , you have to pay the government more money for a permit .
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most sacred land in the state and put a telescope on it to look at the stars , this is fine and dandy .
If you try to protest the government ’ s construction of star gazing equipment on your sacred land , you can and will be kidnapped and caged .
Case in point : Mauna Kea ’ s summit is the most sacred of all the mountains in Hawaii to many of the indigenous people .
In July , when those people showed up to protest the desecration of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were arrested .
Well Kanuha , you didn ’ t have the right permit to claim ownership of the land that was stolen from your people in the 1893 , therefore , you are shit out of luck .
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA .
This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state .
Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project .
Follow @ MattAgorist on Twitter , Steemit , and now on Minds .

State Forces Citizens to Pay for ‘Stargazing Permit’ to View Night Sky in Public Parks—Yes, Really
Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project
Waking Times
New York — In the Land of the Free, if you do not pay the State in the form of a permit before you attempt to sell a product or service to a willing customer, you can and will be extorted, kidnapped and caged, with extreme prejudice. While many folks stand behind permits for selling, one permit in New York that has nothing to do with commerce, has garnered the scrutiny of the Free thought Project. If citizens of the state wish to look up at the sky and view the stars at one of New York’s public parks, they will first have to obtain a “Stargazing permit.” Seriously.
Light pollution across the state of New York makes it hard for folks in highly populated areas to view the night sky. So, people who wish to gaze upon the stars at night have to drive many miles away to remote areas. Many of these remote areas are located in taxpayer-funded state parks.
In their efforts to squeeze every dime they can from the tax farm, bureaucrats in New York have devised a scheme to extort citizens who wish to use public parks to gaze upon the night sky. This extortion comes in the form of a $35.00 “Stargazing Permit.” If you are from out of state and wish to gaze upon the night sky from one of these locations that fee jumps to $60.
If you think that you will do anything else besides look at the night sky with this permit, think again. Within the regulations, bureaucrats explicitly point out that the “Permit allows after sunset parking for stargazing only, valid January 1 – December 31.”
But that’s not all, if you want to bring your metal detector to any of these parks, there’s a permit for that too—it’s $40 to passively scan the ground in search of lost metal. Seems legit.
When conducting a news search on Google for a stargazing permit, we couldn’t find any articles calling out this ridiculous assault on liberty, so we decided to take up that task ourselves. We did find a discussion on Twitter, however, in which Neil deGrasse Tyson even chimed in.
No. Back in the day, you didn’t need permission to look up at the sky. — Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 22, 2020
We should also point out the obvious limits this places on underprivileged residents who may have to choose between $35 in groceries versus paying the state to look up at the stars in a public park. While $35 may not seem like that much to some folks, to others it’s the difference between sleeping with the heat on or freezing. It also serves to drastically limit the imagination and discovery of those who are unable to pay for the permit by disallowing them access to these remote dark areas.
Others are defending the permit in the thread, claiming that it allows people to enter the “closed parks” after hours. But they are clearly missing the point. If you can enter the park with a permit, then it’s not “closed” at all. It’s opened to anyone willing to be extorted or who can afford it. Those who are unable to pay the government or choose not to do so for the exact same activity will be arrested and or further extorted.
Now for the irony and blatant statist hypocrisy. If you want to go after dark to look at stars on state land that you paid for through your tax dollars, you have to pay the government more money for a permit. However, if the government wants to take the most sacred land in the state and put a telescope on it to look at the stars, this is fine and dandy. If you try to protest the government’s construction of star gazing equipment on your sacred land, you can and will be kidnapped and caged.
Case in point: Mauna Kea’s summit is the most sacred of all the mountains in Hawaii to many of the indigenous people. In July, when those people showed up to protest the desecration of their land with the Thirty-Meter Telescope, dozens were arrested.
“These lands were taken from us, so we have rights to them,” Kahoʻokahi Kanuha, an organizer from the Hawaiʻi Unity and Liberation Institute (Huli), a group that opposes construction on Mauna Kea says “We have a spiritual connection to them. We have a genealogical connection to them.”
Well Kanuha, you didn’t have the right permit to claim ownership of the land that was stolen from your people in the 1893, therefore, you are shit out of luck.
About the Author
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.


wakingtimes--2020-01-24--Magic Mushrooms One Step Closer To Treating Depression After Successful Clinical Trials

Psilocybin , the active ingredient in the most commonly used psychedelic mushrooms , is coming closer to becoming a mainstream treatment for depression .
As Truth Theory reported in November , the FDA has listed psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy for depression over the past two years , which has opened the floodgates for research and development of potential treatments .
One company , in particular , Compass Pathways , has been at the forefront of this research , as they have a huge advantage due to significant investments from people like Peter Theil , the co-founder of PayPal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology ( ACNP ) , Compass Pathways announced the results of its recent psilocybin trial at King ’ s College in London .
89 volunteers participated in the study , where the effects of 10mg and 25mg doses were compared with a placebo .
The team reported no adverse physical effects during the study and no negative effects on cognitive and emotional functioning .
Dr Ekaterina Malievskaia , Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder , COMPASS Pathways , said , “ This study is part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treatment-resistant depression ; we wanted to look at the safety and tolerability profile of our psilocybin , and to look at the feasibility of a model where up to six 1:1 sessions are held at the same time .
We are focused on getting psilocybin therapy safely to as many patients who would benefit from it as possible .
We are grateful to the many pioneering research institutions whose work over the years has helped to demonstrate the potential of psilocybin in medicine.
” Dr James Rucker , Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ College London ’ s Institute of Psychiatry , Psychology & Neuroscience , and lead investigator of the study , said , Compass Pathways is currently conducting other studies to prove the safety and efficacy of the substance as a treatment for depression , and is said to be developing a patented treatment based on their findings .
As Truth Theory reported earlier this year , Johns Hopkins University recently announced the opening of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research , a facility within John Hopkins Medicine that will be dedicated to studying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medicinally .
This research center is the first of its kind in the United States , and the largest of its kind in the entire world .
The unprecedented research effort is being made possible thanks to $ 17 million in donations from private investors .
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture , and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems .
He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast .

Magic Mushrooms One Step Closer To Treating Depression After Successful Clinical Trials
John Vibes, Truth Theory
Waking Times
Psilocybin, the active ingredient in the most commonly used psychedelic mushrooms, is coming closer to becoming a mainstream treatment for depression. As Truth Theory reported in November, the FDA has listed psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy for depression over the past two years, which has opened the floodgates for research and development of potential treatments.
One company, in particular, Compass Pathways, has been at the forefront of this research, as they have a huge advantage due to significant investments from people like Peter Theil, the co-founder of PayPal.
In a presentation given last month, at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), Compass Pathways announced the results of its recent psilocybin trial at King’s College in London. 89 volunteers participated in the study, where the effects of 10mg and 25mg doses were compared with a placebo. The team reported no adverse physical effects during the study and no negative effects on cognitive and emotional functioning.
Dr Ekaterina Malievskaia, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder, COMPASS Pathways, said, “This study is part of our overall clinical development programme in treatment-resistant depression; we wanted to look at the safety and tolerability profile of our psilocybin, and to look at the feasibility of a model where up to six 1:1 sessions are held at the same time. We are focused on getting psilocybin therapy safely to as many patients who would benefit from it as possible. We are grateful to the many pioneering research institutions whose work over the years has helped to demonstrate the potential of psilocybin in medicine.”
Dr James Rucker, Consultant Psychiatrist and Senior Clinical Lecturer in Psychopharmacology at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, and lead investigator of the study, said,
“This is the largest controlled study of psilocybin to date. The results of the study are clinically reassuring and support further development of psilocybin as a treatment for patients with mental health problems that haven’t improved with conventional therapy, such as treatment resistant depression.”
Compass Pathways is currently conducting other studies to prove the safety and efficacy of the substance as a treatment for depression, and is said to be developing a patented treatment based on their findings.
As Truth Theory reported earlier this year, Johns Hopkins University recently announced the opening of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, a facility within John Hopkins Medicine that will be dedicated to studying psychedelics and their potential to be used medicinally. This research center is the first of its kind in the United States, and the largest of its kind in the entire world. The unprecedented research effort is being made possible thanks to $17 million in donations from private investors.
About the Author
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast.


wakingtimes--2020-01-24--“Impossible to Clean” – Diesel Spill in Galapagos Islands Raises Fear of Wildlife Catastrophe

A state of emergency has been declared in Ecuador after a barge carrying hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel sank off the Galapagos Islands , likely causing an environmental disaster in one of the world ’ s most treasured natural destinations .
On Sunday , a barge carrying nearly 2,300 liters—or 600 gallons—of diesel fuel sank near San Cristóbal Island .
Authorities quickly declared an emergency in order to contain the spill .
The extent of fuel that leaked from the ship still remains unclear , but images shared by Ecuador ’ s Ministry of the Environment and Coast Guard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spill from spreading .
The spill occurred after a crane collapsed while workers attempted to load a shipping container onto a small vessel called the Orca .
In dramatic video of the collapse , the crane can be seen attempting to load the fuel-filled container onto the ship before it falls down onto the Orca , causing the ship to flip onto its side as the crew dives into the water for safety .
After learning about the accident , Environmental Minister Raul Ledesma tweeted : The minister also ordered that the Galapagos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charge of monitoring the fragile biodiversity in the archipelago , take any “ necessary contingency measures to overcome these unfortunate facts.
” Soldiers and environmentalists deployed barriers and absorbent cloths to keep the fuel from seeping through the sensitive waters of the Galapagos chain .
On Monday , President Lenin Moreno claimed on Twitter that the spill was under control “ thanks to the timely intervention of several institutions.
” However , attorney Kristen Monsell of the Center for Biological Diversity told Newsweek : Legal authorities in the South American nation declared on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation into the sinking of the Orca on the grounds of Ecuadorean laws prohibiting crimes that contaminate or harm bodies of water .
Those found guilty of crimes against the water could face prison sentences of up to three to five years .
“ Strong safeguards and rigorous enforcement are needed to prevent this from ever happening again .
If we can ’ t protect a biodiversity hotspot like the Galapagos Islands from this kind of pollution , nowhere is safe .
There ’ s a dark symbolism to this Galapagos spill , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a climate crisis that will snuff out countless species around the globe.
” The Galapagos Islands is an archipelago that lays hundreds of miles off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean .
The island chain is known for inspiring British naturalist Charles Darwin ’ s theory of evolution and is seen as a “ living laboratory ” of inestimable worth to biologists .
The islands are home to many unique species of plants and animals , and the archipelago has been named a United Nations World Heritage site .

“Impossible to Clean” – Diesel Spill in Galapagos Islands Raises Fear of Wildlife Catastrophe
Elias Marat, The Mind Unleashed
Waking Times
A state of emergency has been declared in Ecuador after a barge carrying hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel sank off the Galapagos Islands, likely causing an environmental disaster in one of the world’s most treasured natural destinations.
On Sunday, a barge carrying nearly 2,300 liters—or 600 gallons—of diesel fuel sank near San Cristóbal Island. Authorities quickly declared an emergency in order to contain the spill.
The extent of fuel that leaked from the ship still remains unclear, but images shared by Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment and Coast Guard showed boats quickly responding to prevent the spill from spreading.
#SanCristóbal| El @parquegalapagos y @armada_ecuador colocan barreras de contención y paños absorbentes para reducir el riesgo ambiental por hundimiento de gabarra Orca, con 600 galones de diesel almacenados. Desde #SantaCruz se dispone el envío de material de contingencia. pic.twitter.com/nQ0aRVug8I — Parque Galápagos (@parquegalapagos) December 22, 2019
The spill occurred after a crane collapsed while workers attempted to load a shipping container onto a small vessel called the Orca. In dramatic video of the collapse, the crane can be seen attempting to load the fuel-filled container onto the ship before it falls down onto the Orca, causing the ship to flip onto its side as the crew dives into the water for safety.
After learning about the accident, Environmental Minister Raul Ledesma tweeted:
“We are implementing immediate actions to reduce environmental risks due to the sinking of the Orca barge in San Cristóbal.”
The minister also ordered that the Galapagos National Park management, which is in charge of monitoring the fragile biodiversity in the archipelago, take any “necessary contingency measures to overcome these unfortunate facts.”
Soldiers and environmentalists deployed barriers and absorbent cloths to keep the fuel from seeping through the sensitive waters of the Galapagos chain.
On Monday, President Lenin Moreno claimed on Twitter that the spill was under control “thanks to the timely intervention of several institutions.” However, attorney Kristen Monsell of the Center for Biological Diversity told Newsweek:
“It’s horrific that a toxic oil spill was allowed to happen in one of the planet’s great ecological treasures. Oil lingers in coastal ecosystems for years, killing wildlife and disrupting food chains, and it’s impossible to clean it all up.”
Esto pasó hoy en San Cristóbal, muelle El Predial- Galapagos pic.twitter.com/eEc5NfZLxP — Eduardo Emanuele 🇪🇨 (@caedemmo) December 22, 2019
Legal authorities in the South American nation declared on Monday that they would open a criminal investigation into the sinking of the Orca on the grounds of Ecuadorean laws prohibiting crimes that contaminate or harm bodies of water. Those found guilty of crimes against the water could face prison sentences of up to three to five years.
El Comercio reports that Galapagos Attorney General Christian Farez Falconi has ordered an investigation, stating that “the fuel spill could have caused a serious impact on the sensitive ecosystem of this protected area.”
Monsell added:
“Strong safeguards and rigorous enforcement are needed to prevent this from ever happening again. If we can’t protect a biodiversity hotspot like the Galapagos Islands from this kind of pollution, nowhere is safe. There’s a dark symbolism to this Galapagos spill, which comes as fossil fuel pollution creates a climate crisis that will snuff out countless species around the globe.”
The Galapagos Islands is an archipelago that lays hundreds of miles off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. The island chain is known for inspiring British naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and is seen as a “living laboratory” of inestimable worth to biologists.
The islands are home to many unique species of plants and animals, and the archipelago has been named a United Nations World Heritage site.
By Elias Marat | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com
Image Source: Reuters


wakingtimes--2020-01-24--Switzerland Just Banned The Egg Industry From Grinding Male Chicks

Because male chicks are incapable of laying eggs when mature , commercial egg farms around the world often dispose of them by shredding .
In late 2019 , the controversial practice was banned in Switzerland .
The move is due to progress in techniques to determine chicks ’ gender in the egg .
According to AP News , the ban went into effect on January 1 , 2020 .
Although the government says the practice of putting live chicks through a lethal “ mechanical procedure ” has been used by relatively few hatcheries.
, chick culling through maceration is now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still allowed , however .
The government added that methods to determine chicks ’ gender in the egg are not yet widely available .
However , several companies and universities are working hard to invent a “ commercial method.
” Interested in learning more about chick culling ?
Watch the video ( NSFW ) below : The process entails killing newly hatched hicks for the intensive animal farming industry .
Shortly after being sexed , the chicks are put through a high-speed grinder , simply because they do not lay eggs and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies .
Many methods of culling do not involve anesthetics and include cervical dislocation or asphyxiation by carbon dioxide .
In the United Kingdom , asphyxiation is the most common form of chick culling .
Maceration is the primary method in the United States .
Mandy Froelich is an RHN , plant-based chef , journalist , Reiki master therapist , world traveler and enthusiast of everything to do with animal rights , sustainability , cannabis and conscious living .
She share healthy recipes on my blog Life in Bloom .

Switzerland Just Banned The Egg Industry From Grinding Male Chicks
Mandy Froelich, Truth Theory
Waking Times
Because male chicks are incapable of laying eggs when mature, commercial egg farms around the world often dispose of them by shredding. In late 2019, the controversial practice was banned in Switzerland. The move is due to progress in techniques to determine chicks’ gender in the egg.
According to AP News, the ban went into effect on January 1, 2020. Although the government says the practice of putting live chicks through a lethal “mechanical procedure” has been used by relatively few hatcheries., chick culling through maceration is now banned. Killing chicks by carbon dioxide is still allowed, however.
The government added that methods to determine chicks’ gender in the egg are not yet widely available. However, several companies and universities are working hard to invent a “commercial method.”
Interested in learning more about chick culling? Watch the video (NSFW) below:
The process entails killing newly hatched hicks for the intensive animal farming industry. Shortly after being sexed, the chicks are put through a high-speed grinder, simply because they do not lay eggs and, therefore, are not profitable to companies.
Many methods of culling do not involve anesthetics and include cervical dislocation or asphyxiation by carbon dioxide. In the United Kingdom, asphyxiation is the most common form of chick culling. Maceration is the primary method in the United States.
About the Author
Mandy Froelich is an RHN, plant-based chef, journalist, Reiki master therapist, world traveler and enthusiast of everything to do with animal rights, sustainability, cannabis and conscious living. She share healthy recipes on my blog Life in Bloom.