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U.S. Domestic News

END OF DRUG WAR? World Leaders Call For Legalization Of All Drugs

END OF DRUG WAR? World Leaders Call For Legalization Of All Drugs

END OF DRUG WAR? World Leaders Call For Legalization Of All Drugs

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by | Nov 26, 2016

In a step to end the “War of Drugs,” several world leaders have called for the legalization of all drugs. “Citing failed drug policy, the Global Commission on Drug Policy’s annual report advocates the removal of both civil and criminal penalties for drug use and possession,” the report stated. The Global Commission on Drug Policy panel includes former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, British businessman Richard Branson and the former presidents of Switzerland, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. The Committee also denounced the “barbaric actions” of Philippino President Rodrigo Duterte, who has previously called on the public to execute people involved in the drug trade. More than 3,600 people were killed during Duterte’s first 100 days in office. “After years of denouncing the dramatic effects of prohibition and the criminalization of people that do no harm but use drugs on the society as a whole, it is time to highlight the benefits of well-designed and well-implemented people centered drug polices,” Former Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss said. Dreifuss, who is also the Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, added, “These innovative policies cannot exist as long as we do not discuss, honestly, the major policy error made in the past, which is the criminalization of personal consumption or possession of illicit psychoactive substances in national laws.” Portugal replaced criminal sanctions for drug use with civil penalties and health interventions 15 years ago. The British Medical Journal has also called for the legalization of illicit drugs for the first time: “Health should be at the center of this debate, and so, therefore, should healthcare professionals. Change is coming, and doctors should use their authority to lead calls for pragmatic reform informed by science and ethics.” They argued that some countries have already done away with criminal penalties for personal drug possession, while still punishing drug traffickers/dealers. As previously reported, researchers have found in a clinical trial that psychedelic drugs could be used io treat depression and addiction. The study found more positive then negative results in the study’s 20 participants.  The study, headed by Professor David Nutt and Amanda Feilding of the Beckley Foundation, found that LSD and the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms” called psilocybin could help depression, alcoholics and possibly even drug addicts in a way traditional...

International World News

FREXIT? Sarkozy Withdraws From France’s Presidential Race

FREXIT? Sarkozy Withdraws From France’s Presidential Race

FREXIT? Sarkozy Withdraws From France’s Presidential Race

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by | Nov 21, 2016

French Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy consented to his defeat Monday, and withdrew from the country’s Republican primary race. Sarkozy came in third in the centre right race, following two ex-prime ministers: Francois Fillon, who won 44 percent of the vote, and Alain Juppe, who won 22 percent. Fillon and Juppe will face off in a second vote for the party’s nomination on Nov. 27. This election marks Sarkozy’s second attempt at a re-election bid after he lost the presidency in 2012. In his concession speech, Sarkozy said, “I have no bitterness, I have no sadness, and I wish the best for my country.” Sarkozy told reporters he will now endorse Fillon for president. Fillon served as prime minister under Sarkozy when he was president from 2007 to 2012. The winner of the centre right primary is likely to face off against far-right Front National leader Marine Le Pen. Le Pen has voiced support for a “Frexit” and has been promising since 2014 that if elected, “her first order of business would be to schedule a referendum on whether France should remain in the EU.” Le Pen told CNN last week that she sees Donald Trump’s victory as an event that increases her chances of winning because it “makes the French realize that what the people want, they can get, if they mobilize themselves.” “Trump has made possible what was presented as completely impossible,” Le Pen said. “So it’s a sign of hope for those who cannot bear wild globalization. They cannot bear the political life led by the elites.”   Follow Rachel Blevins on Facebook and Twitter. Rachel Blevins Rachel Blevins is a Texas-based journalist who aspires to break the left/right paradigm in media and politics by pursuing truth and questioning existing...
Iraqi Muslims Endorse Trump’s Stance On Combatting ISIS

Iraqi Muslims Endorse Trump’s Stance On Combatting ISIS

Iraqi Muslims Endorse Trump’s Stance On Combatting ISIS

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by | Nov 19, 2016

As Donald Trump prepares his transition team, many Iraqi Shiites are reportedly hopeful about his tactics for combatting the Islamic State. According to a report from the New York Times, several Iraqis “expressed hope” that Trump will “confront militant Islamist extremists far more aggressively than the Obama administration has done.” Trump spoke over the phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for the first time on Friday, and pledged his support to helping Iraq defeat ISIS.  “You are essential partners to us and you will find strong and deep support,” Trump told al-Abadi. Saad al-Hadithi, the spokesman for al-Abadi, told the New York Times that he is optimistic about how Trump’s foreign policy could be used to combat extremism. “We have no concerns about the policy of Trump because he is against extremism,” al-Hadithi said. “We think we are facing one enemy, and that is fighting ISIS. Therefore, I do not think there are fears or concerns about a new American policy,” said al-Hadithi. Mouwafak al-Rubaie, an Iraqi lawmaker and former national security adviser, told the New York Times  he believes Trump will take a harder stance on Saudi Arabia, which is the world power he credits for fueling the rise of the extreme ideology used by ISIS. “The victory of Trump is the beginning of the end of extremist Islam and Wahhabism,” al-Rubaie said. During his campaign, Trump said multiple times that he plans to ban all oil imports from Saudi Arabia in an effort to give the U.S. independence from “our foes and the oil cartels.” Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih, responded on Wednesday, claiming that he believes Trump will change his mind when he is in office, because he thinks “the oil industry will also be advising him accordingly that blocking trade in any product is not healthy.” “The U.S. is sort of the flag-bearer for capitalism and free markets,” Al-Falih said. “The U.S. continues to be a very important part of a global industry that is interconnected, that is dealing with a fungible commodity which is crude oil. So having equalization through free trade is very healthy for oil.” Rachel Blevins Rachel Blevins is a Texas-based journalist who aspires to break the left/right paradigm in media and politics by pursuing truth and questioning existing...
Hezbollah Terrorists Spotted Using U.S. Military Vehicles

Hezbollah Terrorists Spotted Using U.S. Military Vehicles

Hezbollah Terrorists Spotted Using U.S. Military Vehicles

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by | Nov 18, 2016

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, recognized as terrorist organization by the U.S., has been allegedly spotted parading a vast number of U.S.-made military vehicles in Syria, triggering questions about how they ended up in the militants’ hands. Closely aligned with Iran and Syria, Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian government troops since the beginning of the conflict. Arab media has published pictures of the massive amounts of Hezbollah forces in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on the show of force, as did various Hezbollah media outlets. Meanwhile, commentators on various social media sites are claiming that some of the material – including tracked vehicles – seen in the pictures are U.S. made and taken from the Lebanese military. The Syrian rebels were having a field day over the pictures, claiming that this was just further confirmation that Hezbollah are the ones who are really in charge in Syria, while the anti-Hezbollah March 14 coalition came out against the pictures, with one of the coalition leaders tweeting that the pictures “shatter all hope to restore the dignity and the image of the state.” The photos of Hezbollah’s military parade allegedly featuring U.S.-made armored vehicles in the Syrian city of Qusayr published by media close to the organization raised questions the U.S. State Department had to confront during a daily press briefing. “Our embassy in Beirut is working with the Lebanese armed forces to investigate the images circulating on social media purporting to show Hezbollah displaying U.S. military equipment in Syria,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said. She added that there was “no information on them [the images],” but the US would be “gravely concerned if equipment ended up in the hands of Hezbollah.” The U.S. equipment on the photos appear to be the M113 armored personnel carriers that have been in service since 1960 and “are extremely common in the region,” Trudeau noted. The State Department spokeswoman also noted that “the Lebanese military has publicly stated that the M113s depicted online in the Hezbollah military parade were never part of their equipment roster.” The armored personnel carrier, known as the M113, is one of the United States’ most ubiquitous armored vehicles and has been in service since...

Personal Growth

Anonymous Hacker On Hunger Strike; Denied Medical Attention

Anonymous Hacker On Hunger Strike; Denied Medical Attention

Anonymous Hacker On Hunger Strike; Denied Medical Attention

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by | Nov 17, 2016

Last week we told you about the hunger strike of Martin Gottesfeld, activist and alleged Anonymous hacker who has been accused of orchestrating an attack on the Boston Children’s Hospital’s website after he uploaded a YouTube Anonymous press video in support of Justina Pelletier. An update on Martin Gottesfeld’s situation – Marty is now refusing fluids and is being prevented from seeking medical attention at a hospital for the pain in his kidneys by Carmen Ortiz’s office.

Multiple Reports of Racist Trump Graffiti in South Philly

Multiple Reports of Racist Trump Graffiti in South Philly

Multiple Reports of Racist Trump Graffiti in South Philly

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by | Nov 9, 2016

Within twelve hours of America electing Donald Trump, no less than four instances of graffiti were reported to local police in South Philadelphia. Some of that graffiti was openly and cowardly racist. I saw the report from Philly.com, which included a picture of the words ‘Sieg Heil’ spray painted in black on an empty storefront window on Broad Street. I recognized the storefront. I’d passed it dozens of times, on my way to and back from the local grocery store. Immediately, I stopped what I was working on, putting my keys in my pocket and slipping out of my slippers and into a pair of shoes. I darted down the steps of my apartment and out into the street. Running the nearly two and a half blocks to Broad Street, I stopped at the corner. A group of people were situated on the curb, about twenty feet from the empty storefront window. I observed the glass. Everything was wiped away. And yet the picture, I realized, would stay in my brain. How did I know that? I felt it, when I got back to my apartment in the hazy, drizzling rain, gray and cloudy skies above, a damp and somber impression fecundated into my head and heart. I’m going to remember this day. More racist graffiti was also reported on the 1300 block of South Broad Street. ‘RUMP’ spray painted in black. The letter ‘T’ was there instead of a swastika. It is hard to know if the graffiti was sprayed by someone supporting Trump – or someone mocking Trump’s election as racist. Philadelphia is its own county, a blue one, in Pennsylvania. When the election results started coming in last night, it was almost assumed that Clinton would be taking the 20 electoral votes from the state. Instead, those results didn’t come in until well after ten o’clock at night. Maybe it was even after eleven o’clock, when finally Trump was declared the winner of Pennsylvania, one of many red states that solidified his victory in the presidential election which endlessly exuded a divided nation. Clinton secured about ten counties in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t enough. Trump won the state by nearly 70,000 votes. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson took 142,653 votes, while Green Party...
Political Correctness for Yuengling Brewery; What About Our Opioid Epidemic?

Political Correctness for Yuengling Brewery; What About Our Opioid Epidemic?

Political Correctness for Yuengling Brewery; What About Our Opioid Epidemic?

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by | Oct 27, 2016

In today’s political climate even our beer is up for debate. And why shouldn’t it be? This is America. We debate things here. That’s how democracy works. (At least when the issues aren’t taboo.) Recently, it’s shown up in the state of Pennsylvania with Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s son, garnering an endorsement for the Republican candidate from Yuengling, America’s oldest brewery.

REVIEW: ‘Cahill vs. Kalma’ pits man against machine with surprisingly symbiotic results

REVIEW: ‘Cahill vs. Kalma’ pits man against machine with surprisingly symbiotic results

REVIEW: ‘Cahill vs. Kalma’ pits man against machine with surprisingly symbiotic results

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by | Oct 21, 2016

REVIEW: ‘Cahill vs. Kalma’ pits man against machine with surprisingly symbiotic results Written by Dustin Schoof True artists take risks, even in the face of uncertainty. After spending years fronting power rock trio The Almighty Terribles, singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Cahill tunes in to a much different frequency on his new concept album, Cahill vs. Kalma (due out Oct. 31). The result is a fascinating, sci-fi sonic collision between Cahill (who provides the “human” perspective of the narrative, along with vocals and guitar) and fellow multi-instrumentalist Brian “Kalma” Herman (the “robotic” voice in the equation); The Matrix meets Her, scored by Gary Numan. More digital than dirge, Cahill vs. Kalma finds its balance in a fusion of acoustic guitars and electronic beats. The album — a three-year undertaking — also features guest instrumentation from Alex Radus, Andy Janowiak and Dallas Vietty. Standout track “Don’t, Man” is an up-tempo ditty that swings with a futuristic sock-hop beat. The lead single, “Future Shock,” slows down the tempo ever without losing punch or depth. There is a subtle, Frank Zappa-esque nuance to the way Cahill approaches the music, while the song titles alone provide a quick, and clear, glimpse into the dystopian, machine-versus-man theme laid out in his lyrics. “Did you ever think that this day would come? The machines control everyone, super-intellgent and waiving a hundred guns” he ponders in the hypnotic “Singularity.” Yet, it’s within that clash of ideals and scoffing at mankind’s disturbingly addictive dependence on machines that Cahill and Herman create a harmonious, symbiotic sound. In turn, the two have a created a new music sub-genre: Borgstep. Cahill vs. Kalma is the kind of album that deserves to be heard in full. It is an experience more than it is a collection of songs and random thoughts, or blips and bleeps, if you will. Sure, it may seem a bit odd, surreal, trippy, spacey or a combination of all four. Yet Cahill vs. Kalma consistently sparks with creativity. When artificial intelligence eventually enslaves us all, Cahill vs. Kalma is the soundtrack the robots will be slamming to. davecahill I’m a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, political activist, web developer and small business owner. I have composed and produced 5 albums.or original music and have performed hundreds of...

News Wire

MSNBC Host Left TV Battles Behind To Fight Poverty Instead

MSNBC Host Left TV Battles Behind To Fight Poverty Instead

MSNBC Host Left TV Battles Behind To Fight Poverty Instead

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by | Nov 20, 2016

Via The New York Times __________________ When Dylan Ratigan was last on daily television, he was often in a bit of a rage. After two highly publicized rants about unseemly ties between corporations and politicians on MSNBC, he left his show in 2012. Disillusioned, he decided that rather than complain about the state of the world, he would at least try to be part of the solution. He was especially intrigued by something he had heard over the years from both Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and war veterans: “If you really want to combat conflicts, bring the things that we fight over,” said Mr. Ratigan, 44. “Don’t bring more bullets and boots — bring water, food, shelter, communications, so we can empower women and children who are physically left in the villages.” That took him, eventually, to this line of questioning: Why not use hydroponics, solar panels and reverse osmosis water filtration to reduce poverty and conflict, in the United States and abroad? Why not use agriculture technology to help people in inner cities, refugee camps or war zones, and after natural disasters? And why not recruit veterans to help with everything from manufacturing to installation to operations? “The vets I was meeting argued that easily deployed resource kits that can be packed and unpacked from a container are the best way to do this,” Mr. Ratigan said. “This continues the same mission but with a new set of equipment.” Mr. Ratigan moved to California and volunteered at Archi’s Acres, in Escondido, which trains veterans for careers in agriculture. He taught communications and business development, and his interest grew along with the crops. Through a mutual friend, Mr. Ratigan met Kohlie Frantzen, an oilman from Lafayette, La., who had lived through Hurricane Katrina. At Mr. Ratigan’s urging, Mr. Frantzen completed the six-week training class at Archi’s and became a certified hydroponic organic farmer (Mr. Ratigan did not). Not long after, the two men formed a manufacturing and design company, Helical Holdings, investing a few million dollars between them. The company’s first product is the Outpost, a 20- or 40-foot shipping container that can house a hydroponic farm and a solar power station, and provide Wi-Fi and satellite communication. The Outpost includes a filtration system that can provide...

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