Progressive International is a major, global organisation dedicated to justice and accountability.

In its weekly magazine, The Internationalist, Ive been interviewed about my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, where I talk about Israels appeal as an ethno-nationalist state. Plus theres an exclusive, edited book extract that examines the EUs use and abuse of Israeli drones in the Mediterranean.

Read the whole thing here: The Internationalist Issue 31 Antony Loewenstein

The post The allure of ethno-nationalism appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

Just in case you were wondering how low she would go .. ...nuts.

Thanks Underminder for the tip!

Those who, like me, have travelled in them will never forget the experience. A grand old warhorse. Lest We Forget. A flypast to mark the forthcoming retirement of the Hercules from RAF service will take place across all four nations of the United Kingdom on Wednesday 14 June. Details of...

Reports that the last people remaining in Nauru under Australia's offshore detention policy would soon leave the island have been welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre, with a warning that the same must be done for those languishing in Papua New Guinea.   

While the number of people remaining in Nauru continues to fall as a result of transfers to Australia and resettlement in in other countries, more than 80 people previously detained on Manus Island remain trapped in PNG, many with serious health problems caused by years of detention, isolation and medical neglect. Fourteen people have died while subject to offshore detention. More than one hundred people previously detained on Manus Island were abandoned in PNG when the former Coalition government announced the end of Australias involvement in offshore processing in the country at the end of 2021. 

While no new transfers to Nauru or PNG have occurred since 2014, the Albanese government has confirmed that it will maintain facilities for offshore processing in Nauru as a contingency.  

Scott Cosgriff, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre said:     

Across more than a decade in Nauru and PNG, the Australian Government has inflicted untold suffering upon people merely asking for safety. Evacuating Nauru is the right thing to do. Anything less than the same approach in relation to PNG is a profound failure of people whose dire circumstances were caused by this policy and whose lives remain in the Australian Government's hands.  

The Australian Government bears the same responsibility to the people it sent to PNG as to the people it sent to Nauru.
 
Too often, the victims of this policy have been shunted from one agonizing limbo to another. Those now rebuilding their lives in Australia must be allowed to live in freedom, without crippling visa restrictions and with certainty about their future. 

Every person sent to Nauru or PNG has lost years of their lives and been separated from loved ones because of the intentionally punitive policies of successive Australian governments. Uncertain visa status has been weaponised to further punish people who have been transferred, and compel them to accept resettlement in third countries or return home. Its time for the Albanese government to take responsibility and ensure every person can rebuild their lives in safety and freedom. 

Media contact:
Thomas Feng, Media and Communications Manager, 0431 285 275, thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au

Thank you to Rukshan Fernando for this unbelievable record of Mehreen Faruqi's open display of allegiance to a foreign power.

Thanks to Shane W for this graph. This one comes from Albanese himself.

Dear , Im writing to you because of the medical discrimination that many experienced in 2021-22 due to the Australian governments directive to exclude people who chose not to have the experimental COVID19 injection. These people were labelled unvaccinated and removed from social environments and workplaces. At the tennis clubs this resulted in people being... [Read more]

The post Template Letter to Employers/Clubs Medical Discrimination was Never Justified appeared first on Vaccination Decisions.

This is what happened on the White House lawn. These are the "bravest and most inspiring" people Biden has ever known. The country you once knew is gone. pic.twitter.com/uIKTt0EmwQ Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 12, 2023

Last week in Sydney, I launched my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, at Gleebooks to a packed, overflowing audience.

The atmosphere was electric with a real appetite for hear about the reality of Israels occupation being a major export business.

I was introduced by Deputy Greens Leader, Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi, who gave a powerful and insightful speech.

With her permission, Im posting it here because it deserves a wide readership.

Heres a teaser:

Today, it issuch a privilege to launch another masterpiece by Antony Lowenstein The Palestine Laboratory How Israel exports the technology of occupation around the world.

Even just reading out the title sends shivers down my spine. To think that Palestinians are being used as test subjects, as effectively guinea pigs for Israels military weaponry and technology of surveillance, espionage, cyber warfare, phone-hacking, and house demolition gives you a window into the toxic ideology that drives settler-colonisation, oppression, violence and apartheid.

Read the whole thing: The Palestine Laboratory launch

The post Greens deputy leader Dr Mehreen Faruqi launches The Palestine Laboratory appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

A key part of my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, revolves around Israeli spyware.

US outlet In These Times has published an edited extract from this section.

Heres a taster:

Griselda Triana is a Mexican journalist, and human rights activist whose husband, Javier Valdez Crdenas, was slain by a drug cartel on May 15, 2017, in Culiacn, the capital of Sinaloa state. Valdez was the cofounder of the media outlet Riodoce, which investigated corruption and crime, and wrote about the bloody drug war. He paid the ultimate pricea grenade was thrown into his office in 2009. He had received death threats in the months before his murder, but he bravely continued his groundbreaking work despite the threats.

Ten days after his killing, Triana started receiving unexpected text messages on her mobile phone. She had no idea that they were suspicious until almost one year later, when it was discovered that there had been attempts to infiltrate her phone with the Pegasus system, a phone-hacking tool sold by Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, almost certainly by elements within the Mexican state. Before Javiers murder I did not know that we were being monitored, she told me. Javier had never informed her about the possibility of phone hacking, and she presumed that he was taking precautions for his safety. Javier knew about the risks of reporting criminal activities, but even so he was aware that someone had to document the atrocities of criminal organizations, she said.

Read the whole thing: How Israeli Spyware Endangers Activists Across the Globe In These Times

The post Israeli spyware undermines global democracy appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

Ep. 3 America's principles are at stake pic.twitter.com/eJNSUVvvqY Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 13, 2023

Photojournalist Andrew Quilty spent years reporting in Afghanistan and published a book about his experiences, August in Kabul. I reviewed it for the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age in August 2022.

My interview with Quilty, conduced at the Newcastle Writers Festival late March 2023, covers the war itself, the return of the Taliban and the role and responsibility of conflict reporting:

The post Discussing the Afghan war with Andrew Quilty appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

Our strong climate targets are giving businesses the certainty they need to invest in renewable energy. And it's working - investment in large scale solar and wind projects is up nearly 50% in the last year. It's good for the environment, good for jobs, and for the economy too. pic.twitter.com/iRmKj2nIqJ...

Installing a new swimming pool in your backyard is a very exciting moment indeed. But before you start inviting everyone for a dip, you need to first make sure that your pool is safe to swim in.

As a responsible pool owner, its essential that you dont cut corners when it comes to pool safety. In Victoria, if you dont adhere to local safety regulations, you could get a fine that can go all the way up to $1,600. More importantly, failing to comply with safety regulations also puts you and your loved ones at a higher risk of getting hurt. Common pool injuries include drowning, slip and falls, poisoning via pool chemicals, and electrical injuries.

From your choice of pool pavers to the chlorine content of your water, there are a lot of things that you need to consider to make sure that your swimming pool and pool area is safe.

In this blog, were going to go over five things that you can do to keep your backyard pool safe.

Work with Reliable Pool Builders

The first thing that you need to do is to find a reliable pool builder. Experienced pool builders will have a comprehensive understanding of all relevant safety regulations in your area. They will make sure that your pool is built according to local government guidelines and acquire all the necessary building permits for you. If youre having trouble choosing the right paver or the right pool pump, a good builder should be able to provide you with sound advice about that as well.

In Victoria, some aspects of your pool will need to be inspected by registered building surveyors or inspectors before they can be approved for use. A reputable builder will be able to help pass any safety inspections that are required by your local council.

Build a Proper Pool Fence

According to the Victorian Building Authority, all swimming pools or spas that are more than 30cm deep must have a safety barrier that is compliant with AS1926.1-1993.If youre building a pool barrier fence, it must meet the following criteria:

• Must be at least 1.2m high
• Have a gap under the fence that does not exceed 100mm
• Horizontals must be at least 0.9m apart if the verticals are between 10mm and 100m
• Verticals must not be further apart than 10mm in all other cases
• If it meets existing fencing, it must be protected to a distance of 1.2m on the outside of the pool fence and 300mm on the inside

For the full criteria, please refer to the pool barrier fact sheet provided by the Victorian Government.

Have Rescue Equipment and a First Aid Kit Readily Available

If you have a swimming pool in your backyard, its important to have rescue equipment like life rings, life hooks, and rescue tubes. Suc...

They say when America sneezes, Australia gets a cold. Well, Americas poised to suffer another migraine, and his name is Donald Trump. Chris Graham outlines the path back to the White House for the worlds most dangerous leader, and explains just how short and wide it really is.

Theres no way Donald Trump could ever return to the White House, right? In just the course of the last few months alone hes been criminally indicted on charges of falsifying electoral documents over his payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels; hes been found to have sexually abused writer E. Jean Carrol, in the 1990s; and this week hell be indicted again, this time on federal crimes related to the theft of top secret and classified documents.

And none of that even factors in the reality that hes also facing investigation in Georgia over his conduct around the 2020 election, nor the Congressional and other investigations into the January 6 assault on the US Capitol building, an attempt led by Trump to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

So even if Trump somehow manages to escape jail over the next 18 months, theres no way Americans would vote him back in, right? Well think again. Not only has Trump time and again proved his critics wrong, but his path back to the US presidency is a lot easier than you might think. And by a lot, I mean an American shit-tonne.

Based on voting in the 2020 election, there are six US swing states which were won by Biden, but if won back by Trump in 2024 would more than deliver him enough electoral college votes to win back the presidency: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The margins in four of those states are the definition of razor thin theyre less than one per cent, and in the case of Georgia its a margin of just 0.12 per cent, or to be even more precise, 5,230 votes. In Arizona, the margin is 0.16 per cent (5,819 votes); and Wisconsin is 0.32 per cent (10,342 votes). Thats a total of just 21,462 votes, from more than 11 million voters.

Flipping just those three states in 2024 would deliver the 37 electoral college votes he needs to force a tie with Biden. An electoral college tie is then broken by the House of Representatives, which is currently controlled by the Republicans.

In other words, its not a big ask.

See Luppino v Fisher.

Summary:

Contributed by Jim Hayes

Something is wrong when billionaires go about paying no income tax, while everyone else is being denied the right to enjoy the same luxury. They can do this because the law provides them with loopholes and hey can pay for experts who will work it for them. Then they can claim this money back from paying taxpayers as a taxation expense. The yare rewarded for paying no tax.

Defenders of this obvious inequality are quick to brand anyone who questions it as engaging in the politics of envy. Perhaps this makes sese to those who believe self I the only value work thinking about. News flash. There are those who dont look at the world through the same lens.

This is why so many are incensed about hearing that analysis by the Australia Institute of information from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which shows that 66 individuals pocketing an average of 14.5 million paid no tax. Analysis by the Australia Institute showed that they were aid $219,000 for help to avoid paying tax in 2020-21. This shows that they were tax receivers. Not just avoiders of paying tax.

Photo by David Maguire/ABC News

And the Australian government continues to be on track to deliver a major cut to the nominal rate next year. Estimates ae that this will mean at least $313 billion taken from Australian citizens by 2033.

Angst against this is not envy. It is standing up for justice. After all, we live in a society where we are dependent on each other. Even billionaires. This dependency exists at and outside work. None of us could eat without those who produce the food, deliver the services, provide our transport and so on.

Working together harmoniously, is how society grows and every individual withi...

Dear Michael, Recently, you might have received an e-mail from Peter Dutton about the Voice. I am concerned that enshrining in the Constitution a Voice that covers all areas of executive government presents a real risk. Like most people, I am in favour of constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. However,...

My recent conversation at the Addi Road Writers Festival in Sydney, Australia about my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, with my Declassified Australia friend, co-founder and co-editor, Peter Cronau.

We discussed surveillance capitalism and Israels leading role in its global proliferation (including in Australia via the Israeli company Cellebrite, a fact explained in a book extract that we published recently at Declassified Australia.)

The post Declassified Australia talk on Israeli mass surveillance appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

You be the judge. pic.twitter.com/nuv6GriEZs Jay M 8th Generation Australian. (@8thGenAust) June 12, 2023

A national security law used to shroud court cases in secrecy is undemocratic, possibly unconstitutional and in urgent need of comprehensive reform.

In a submission to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM) Grant Donaldson SC, the Human Rights Law Centre has recommended a range of reforms to improve the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (NSI Act).

In 2022, the INSLM recommended initial reforms to the NSI Act following a targeted review into Witness Js fully-secret criminal prosecution. The entire NSI Act is now under review to determine how a better balance can be struck between open justice and the protection of national security. 

In its submission, Open Justice, Closed Courts, the Human Rights Law Centre called for practical safeguards to mitigate the impact of the NSI Act on democracy and open justice in cases where a degree of secrecy may be necessary. The submission also proposed:

• The repeal of a mandatory requirement for some hearings to be held in closed court

• The removal of a provision that forces judges to give greatest weight to the view of the Attorney-General in determining the level of secrecy to apply in NSI Act cases

• The appointment of independent expert to advocate for transparency in cases where secrecy is sought; and

• The retention and periodic review of secret judgments and other closed court materials, with appropriate access.

Human Rights Law Centre Senior Lawyer, Kieran Pender said:

Open justice is a critical democratic principle, protecting the human rights of all Australians. Yet in recent years we have seen the NSI Act used to shroud the prosecution of whistleblowers like Bernard Collaery, Witness J and David McBride in secrecy, and the fully-secret prosecution of Witness J. These cases undermine public confidence in our legal system.

Comprehensive reforms are required to put open justice at the heart of the NSI Act. Appropriate checks and balances are needed to ensure the NSI Act upholds open justice without compromising national security. If adopted, our recommendations would help ensure the sweeping secrecy in cases like Collaery and Witness J can never happen again.

Read the Human Rights Law Centre submission Open Justice, Closed Courts

Media contact:
Thomas Feng
Human Rights Law Centre
Media and Communications Manager
0431 285 275
...

Github soll ihren "KI"-Copiloten den Code mutieren lassen, damit er nicht mehr wie eine direkte Kopie aussieht und automatisiert sofort als Copyright-Verletzung erkannt wird.

Einmal crook, immer crook.

Pharmacy Uniforms Perth help chemists to gain confidence in their patients by giving them a stylish
and professional look. They also keep them comfortable during their work shifts and maintain safety
norms. They are made of high-quality fabric and personalizing to add an element of professionalism. They are available in different sizes and washing daily. They are durable and do not crease easily. They are available at reasonable prices and come with a discount for first-time customers.

Pharmacy Uniforms Perth

A pharmacy uniforms perth is the perfect way to make your employees look professional and trustworthy. It can also help your customers feel comfortable visiting your pharmacy and trusting you with their health needs. Pharmacy uniforms are designing to be durable and comfortable. They are made from breathable fabrics and are constructing with precise tailoring. This allows them to be worn during long shifts without feeling restrictive. They also allow for easy cleaning and maintenance.

The best way to ensure a quality pharmacy uniform is to work with a reputable supplier. You can find
many suppliers online, but you should consider their customer service and reputation. A reputable
provider will have years of experience in designing and producing medical uniforms. They will also be
familiar with the Australian health sectors requiring specifications.

Pharmacy scrubs are a style of uniform that worn in the workplace and at home. They ar
crafting from flexible fabric blends to help pharmacists bend, squat, and stretch throughout the day.
Improving airflow creating through precise tailoring keeps them cool and dry, even during busy shifts.

Benefits Of Pharmacy Uniforms Perth

There are many benefits to wearing a uniform. It allows customers or clients to easily recognize
employees and it can also make people feel more confident in the staff. It also helps to promote a
company or organization. In addition, it can give a sense of community and teamwork. For example, if
you work at a school that is known for its high standards, requiring students to wear the same uniform
can create a sense of unity and pride in the school.

The pharaoh Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, is arguably the best-known ruler in ancient Egyptian history. And while much has been written about the royal youth, who held the throne from about the age of 9 until his death a decade later around 1323 B.C., his actual appearance is still a matter of debate. But now, a new facial approximation provides a glimpse of what the historical figure may have looked like, revealing new insight into some of the former king's more peculiar facial characteristics. "Tutankhamun is of archaeological interest not only because of his world-famous burial treasure, but because he ruled for a decade at an important phase in Egyptian history," Michael Habicht, a senior research fellow at Flinders University in Australia and co-author of the new research, told Live Science in an email. Tut's father, the revolutionary pharaoh Akhenaten, had discouraged worship of all gods except Aten, the sun disc. But Tut did not follow his father's ways.

Thirty randomized clinical trials involving a researcher in Egypt who has already had six papers retracted show signs of research misconduct and data fabrication, according to the authors of a recent preprint. 

Ben Mol, one of the authors of the preprint and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Monash University in Australia, has spent several years investigating the work of Sherief Abd-Elsalam, a hepatologist and gastroenterologist at Tanta University in Egypt. Abd-Elsalam denies that his research is false or fabricated. 

Mol has been exposing research misconduct in his own field for years. His work revealed dozens of dodgy obstetrics papers by Ahmed Badawy and Hatem Abu Hashim of Mansoura University, in Egypt, as well as serious problems with clinical trials led by Ahmed Maged at Cairo University, research about c-sections also from Cairo University, and urology research by Iranian researcher Mohammad Reza Safarinejad. 

Abd-Elsalam said in an email that he disagrees with the allegations in the preprint. Where is the problem? We dont know, he wrote. 

Mol began to question the integrity of Abd-Elsalams work after noticing a number of suspicious randomized controlled trials (RCTs) he helped conduct on controversial COVID-19 treatments including ivermecti...

A yacht in Freemantle, WA, Photo: AFP

by Mary W Maxwell, LLB

Dear Gumshoe Readers, When the AFP arrested Russell Pridgeon and Patrick ODea and Mrs Cling Peaches on 17 October 2018, the number of officers in tow was 20, plus an equal number of media people.  I assume the journos (not including, say, Dee McLachlan) were given the script before the arrest.

I mean, why not? Are there any rules about that sort of thing? More importantly, are there any rules about whether the media can state false facts? And if they were given those false facts by the AFP (Australian Federal Police, sort of like FBI), is the AFP accountable? What if the lies did real harm?

I gather from the 2023 book by Russell Pridgeon, that he was told he couldnt speak out in his own defense (such as by saying Hey, Pants on Fire, Everybody). I d...

Family history charts and worksheets can help you plan and organise your research process, and record and visualise the information you uncover about your ancestors. They can be used instead of, or alongside, genealogy software or websites to document your research. Charts and worksheets are particularly useful to use as a working copy, where you

The Solana (SOL) token is one of the biggest losers on the crypto market with a price drop of around 30% in the last seven days. After the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared the Solana token as well as numerous other altcoins as securities in its lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance US, the SOL price plummeted.

In a worst-case scenario, the SEC could sue Solana Foundation in the same way it did Ripple Labs in December 2020. Thus, the bottom of the SOL prices slump might not be reached yet, if the SEC really takes this step and thus causes more investors to panic sell.

Solana Community And Developers Oppose The SEC

The Solana Foundation has now responded to the SECs classification of its SOL token as an unregistered security. In a statement, it said, The Solana Foundation strongly believes that SOL is not a security, adding SOL is the native token to the Solana blockchain, a robust, open-source, community-based software project that relies on decentralized user and developer engagement to expand and evolve.

While one developer at a recent event dismissed the SECs legal action, stating that developers give a shit about what the SEC thinks, there is a part of the community that is already thinking about possible ways to solve the SEC issue.

The founder of Degen Picks launched a poll within the Solana community on whether the blockchain should fork to avoid the regulatory issues with the SEC. A total of 2,050 people participated in the poll, 39.9% answered yup while 24.2% answered stfu (shut the fuck up).

OK hear me out. Its time to fork $SOL. SEC dissapears, FTX bankruptcy can dump on themselves. $BTC and $ETH both did it.

cc @SOLBigBrain

Your reaction?

Caps (@capsjpeg) June 10, 2023

Surprisingly, the idea is supported by Abracadabra founder @HGEABC. Via Twitter, he responded to the poll, writing, Bold but not a bad idea actually. C...

The victory of Novak Djokovic in the latest French Open had the usual mixed reception in Australia. While Australians pretend to like radicals, larrikins and the occasional deviant, the contrary is true. Tight buttoned, properly behaved and conformist to the point of invisibility, the boringly predictable are always preferred. You can rely on them.

Even in Melbourne, a town where his following is strong (he has won 10 Australian Opens), the call back circuit on the local ABC radio station qualified, ignored, even denigrated the Serbs latest achievement. At best, 23 grand slams, making him the most accomplished player in the open era, had to be seen alongside other caveats. He did not, one caller churlishly insisted, do the grand slam in one year, twice! Another, showing the sort of maturity demanded in some spectators, insisted that a French Open without Rafael Nadal was not a tournament worth seeing. Even the radio host joined in, regretting that it had to be Novak getting his nose in front.

Of the big three who have dominated tennis for almost two decades Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic the Serbian has tended to be seen as one playing catch-up, his talent formidable, colossal, yet limping behind the anointed ones. But the views of him as a player have rarely remained technical or specific to his craft. There is always something else about him that irritates and enrages, necessitating his diminishing. He does not play the role of what might be termed the nice person.

Cathal Kelly, writing for The Globe and Mail, wistfully recalls that other villain of tennis: the young Andre Agassi. Young Andre Agassi was insufferable. He was so easily detestable that Esquire magazine named its yearly razzy sports awards after him. But the insufferable became palatable: Agassi lost the wig, became a nice person. It was a real disappointment. He also found himself a wife of unquestioned goodness: another stellar tennis performer, Steffi Graf.

Djokovic, however, presents so...

When Hurricane Dorian blazed its trail of destruction through the Bahamas in 2019, it ravaged the countrys mangroves. Almost overnight, coastal communities were deprived of a natural barrier that protected them from high tides and storm surges. Since then, several nonprofits and local organizations have taken up restoration projects to revive mangroves in the island nation. But given the scale of destruction, where do you begin? How do you determine which areas to prioritize? Florida-based nonprofit Perry Institute for Marine Sciences used a recently developed online tool to answer these questions. The Blue Carbon Explorer mapped out mangroves in the Bahamas, including a color-coded depiction of how their health had changed over time: red for mangrove loss, black for no change and green for mangrove growth. With the help of this data, the Perry team was able to pinpoint areas where mangroves had degraded and were not likely to recover naturally and used this information to prioritize sites for restoration. The team is currently working with local groups to try out a suite of methods to restore mangroves in the worst-affected areas, including direct planting, letting waves disperse propagules naturally and dropping propagules from drones in hard-to-reach areas. The data in the tool found degraded mangroves that are more isolated from the healthier ones, Valerie Pietsch McNulty, conservation scientist at the nonprofit Nature Conservancy, told Mongabay in a video interview. Those areas are less likely to recover naturally because they arent close to a seed source. The Blue CarbonThis article was originally published on Mongabay

In just a few short years, CBD products have proliferated all over the place and can now be purchased in the form of oral oils, edibles like gummies, candies, foods, pills, or beverages, topically applied ointments, creams, or lotions applied to the skin, and inhaled via vaping or smoking. A devoted client base that is very pleased with Cureganics goods has been developed. The firm makes some of the best CBD products due to its transparency, quality, and price. These satisfied consumers willingness to provide positive reviews of Cureganics goods on many platforms testifies to the brands success and customer service.

Is CBD Considered A Drug?

THC, CBDs cousin, does not cause the high associated with marijuana. Due of its association with cannabis, CBDs legal status and narcotic status are unclear. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp-derived CBD in the US. Hemp-derived CBD products are no longer Schedule I pharmaceuticals. CBD from cannabis plants with more than 0.3% THC is still illegal and classified as a Schedule I drug by the federal government. CBD products should be used cautiously, even though THC is a narcotic. Some CBD products include harmful contaminants. CBDs drug interactions may also cause harm. CBD is typically harmless, although it might cause fatigue, diarrhea, and appetite changes. CBD, like any supplement or medication, should be checked by a doctor before use.

How Does CBD Impact Brain Function?

CBD affects the brain through the ECS. The ECS controls pain, mood, and appetite via a complex network of receptors and chemicals. CBD interacts with ECS receptors CB1 and CB2, which may affect the brain and body. CBD reduces anxiety. CBD may reduce cortisol, a stress hormone associated with anxiety and tension. CBD may increase brain levels of serotonin and anandamide, which promote relaxation and well-being. CBD may be neur...

Mary Rooke The Daily Caller Jan 31, 2023

A 20-year-old man from Rochester, Minnesota, will spend less than six months in jail for raping two girls aged four and nine.

Mohamed Bakari Shei was sentenced to 176 days in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center on Monday for two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with someone under 13, reported KIMT. Shei entered an Alford plea in Dec. 2022, pleading guilty while maintaining his innocence but acknowledging the evidence against him would cause a jury to convict him.

In addition to the jail sentence, District Judge Jacob Allen gave Shei 30 years of supervised probation and 200 hours of community work service, according to the report. Shei pled guilty to raping a nine-year-old girl several times beginning on Mothers Day 2018 and another girl around four or five years old in 2021, reported the Post Bulletin.

Olmsted County Senior Attorney Thomas Gort said Sheis plea deal included a stay of adjudication and no prison time to prevent him from prolonging his prosecution, according to the report. Shei could have challenged his status of being tried in adult court since he was around 16 years old when he committed the rapes.

With good behavior, Shei will serve, at most, 116 days in Olmsted County Adult Detention Center, the report stated. His jail sentence will begin Feb. 13, 2023. Shei was also ordered to undergo a sex offender program and complete 200 hours of community service.

At Sheis sentencing hearing, one of his victims gave a statement about her experience dealing with the sexual assaults. There is no moving on or getting over it. Ive tried, she said, according to the outlet.

A family member of one of Sheis victims told him he would answer for the sexual assaults that caused the child to become detached and introverted, the report stated.

Some day you will have to answer for his egregious act against a child, they told Shei in court.

Sheis plea deal does not require that he register as a sex offender.

Source

Smoking Mirrors June 9, 2023

God Poet Transmitting.

If you ask your search engine; why does the smoke from Quebec blow South? You find that both the NY and LA Times have a spin on it, AND so do all kinds of other mass media cloacas. Its called getting ahead of the story cutting the truth off at the pass seizing the narrative until its in George Floyd Country.

The bottom feeders who ironically appear to be resident at the top of the food chain are well aware of the changes in patterns and trends as the new age comes into its measured sector in the endless cycle of Nature in transformation responding to the way The Light is precipitated into form through the particular constellation it will be shining through. We can only hope you read that sentence with some degree of patient attentiveness.

So they have latched on to certain areas of change with the idea that we can collectively do something about them; Climate Change, for instance. They want to be out in front of the traffic caused by humanitys latest passage through Time and Space.

I wonder how many people think about how the story about The Tower of Babel happened to make an appearance? Who was behind all those Greek and Roman myths? How about Noah and The Ark? Its patently absurd on the face of it, but are there deeper implications concerning God and Natures reactions to the decay of culture at that time?

Dont you get the feeling sometimes that someone several someones or something is behind the curtain that cuts off the view of backstage from the audience in the theater? Is life itself a Punch and Judy Show? I mean of course there are those bottom feeders who like to give the impression that they are in charge of conditions and events, and you could surmise that The Dark Lord is behind them, but surely The Dark Lord answers to someone too. Doesnt he?

Is he responsible for turning existence into The Buggerers Banquet? Is it humanity causing it through its collective resistance to The Light, or are these the things that happen automatically when Materialism reaches a certain level of density and intensity?

Consider The Fetal Position. Please note how as life advances toward death how the body seems to curl back into a similar position. I imagine if it kept going and Nature was accommodating then Humanity would likely disappear up its own waste canal?

It seems to me that you have either a circular awareness if you are one who thinks that what you see is all there is or a spiraling consciousness that by stages progresses to states of being beyond the bandwidth of the senses, w...

THE 49-PAGE GRAND JURY indictment, filed last week in Florida by the United States Department of Justice, contains 37 criminal charges against former president Donald Trump. The charges can be summarized into a two-fold accusation: Trump is alleged to have stolen more than 300 classified documents upon leaving the White House in January 2021. Moreover, he allegedly schemed with a group of advisors and aides in order to obstruct efforts by the government to retrieve the stolen documents. Both accusations are spelled out in stark detail in the pages of the indictment. What remains unanswered, however, is the motive.

QUESTION: Dear Mr. Armstrong,
could you please explain what happens in technical terms from a capital flow perspective, when confidence is lost and hyperinflation starts to begin?
For example Turkey. When Erdogan was elected i think you wrote that ever since the lira started dropping. So confidence in politics is key. Do you think one day we will see hyperinflation in Turkey?
And another example, is Yugoslavia: what caused the hyperinflation (in technical terms/capital flow perspective)? Are foreign investors getting rid of the dinars? Too many dinars than suddenly rushed back into Yugoslavia causing hyperinflation?
Regards,
Magdalena .

ANSWER: The misnomer about hyperinflation is that it is caused by printing money. It is a RESPONSE to the collapse in the confidence of the government.  If we look at the 3rd century, this is where we find the greatest number of hoards of ancient coins. What began this was the capture of...

Ahead of Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, The Fred Hollows Foundation is calling for more community safeguards to protect older people with vision impairment from neglect and mistreatment.

Around one in six people aged 60 years or older have experienced some form of abuse over the past year, according to the World Health Organiaztion (WHO). 

Two in three staff have committed abuse

The rates of abuse of older people are even higher in institutions, including nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where two in three staff report that they have committed abuse in the past year. 

The Foundations Senior Adviser for Healthy Ageing, Dr Vnia de la Fuente-Nez, said elder abuse was one of the most hidden forms of abuse in society and older people with sight issues were most at risk of being harmed.  

People with vision impairment have increased vulnerability

Richard Boyle is being prosecuted for trying to prevent more of these murders

SMEKALKA can mean that a person is technically very competent (savvy), or has a lot of common sense.

Posting short link: https://wp.me/p1n8TZ-3kn 

However, its reverse meaning is freaking cracy idiot.

Smekalka is therefore my description of choice to describe both the illegal invasion of Ukraine AND the unlawful attempt by the Federal Parliament to undermine the Public Interest Disclosure Act by prosecuting Richard Boyle for doing what urgently needed to done, i.e., blow the whistle on the endemic corruption (process corruption) within...

On the 12 of June most of Australia, except for Queensland and Western Australia celebrates the UKs monarchs birthday.

Before, it was known for most peoples lives as the Queens birthday, where there was also a Queen of Australia which the legal system works under.

Was this figure put in lawfully into the colonys legislature?

Short answer, no.

So now the motherland has a new monarch, but does that make him automatically a King of the colony?

Of course not, as always there is a procedure that must be adhered to.

So lets see if the rascals and outlaws in the colony have done their paperwork correctly?

Does Australias Constitution allow for the creation of a King of Australia?

Remembering that the Constitution is Australias fundamental legal document, describing how the people in government must act, including their oath for appointments.

Is there an enumerated head of power within the Constitution to create a title for the King of Australia?

Lets not buy into a conspiracy theories, and go straight to the government, after all isnt their word final?

A FOI (Freedom of Information) request was sent to the Australian Government to provide the necessary paperwork.

On the 20th of October 2020 a response was given.

See document FOI22/234; CM22/43725, below:

Source:

https://constitutionwatch.com.au/is-there-a-power-within-the-constitution-to-create-a-king-of-australia/

...

Pastor Brian Houston, the self-proclaimed greatest pastor on earth meets his Waterloo at court in Sydney, Australia.

Why was Waterloo so significant?

Waterloo ended the wars that had convulsed Europe since the French Revolution (1789-99). It also ended Frances attempts, whether under Louis XIV or Napoleon, to dominate the continent. Waterloo inaugurated a general European peace that, apart from the brief interruption of the Crimean War (1854-56), lasted until 1914. National Army Museum UK

My interview on US radio station KPFKs program, Middle East in Focus, on my new book, The Palestine Laboratory, including a discussion about how the US and Israel relationship has contributed to backing the worst regimes in the world since the 1970s:

The post US radio KPFK on The Palestine Laboratory appeared first on Antony Loewenstein.

Trump indictment undermines democracy because if a law is going to be enforced, it should be enforced equally and fairly across the board. The selective use of govt institutions and law enforcement to go after political or personal opponents, undermines the very essence of the pic.twitter.com/Hw3w36Zfq8 Tulsi Gabbard ...

Contributed by Joe Montero

The number of international agreements aimed at abandoning the US dollar in trade has been growing lately. This movement has been pushed along by Washingtons aggressive foreign policy. Buts its roots lie in a history of colonialism and neocolonialism, and the attempts of subjugated nations to break free.

We are witnessing today, a monumental shift from a global economy dominated by the United States towards one it no longer dominates, and the associated decline in Washingtons capacity to impose its political will on the world.

Paradoxically, it is this decline that is driving Washingtons use of trade sanctions and the weaponizing of the dollar like never before, as stools to both export domestic economic problems to other nations and achieve its own political ends. These actions are further undermining both and pushing dozens of countries to look elsewhere.

A legacy of revealed military weakness is another factor. From Korea, through to Vietnam, Iraq , Afghanistan, and Syria, they have all brought about defeat. Now the proxy war in Ukraine shows signs it is heading in the same direction. The military posture against China of recent years threatens a war that the United States cant win.

The difference toady is that all of this is combining and has become entrenched enough to create an opportunity for nations to assert greater independence.

Here are a few salient facts.

The United States accounts for around 20 percent of global economic output. At the same time, it has possession of more than half of the worlds currency reserves, and the bulk of international transactions are carried out with the US dollar. The discrepancy between the share of output and control over the global financial system reveals the extent of dependency on financial transactions as the engine of the economy.

It also reveals a parasitic aspect. This is because financial transactions in excess to the needs of economic output, means that money is invested and then drawn out again in a bigger volume and leaving little behind, except a web of debt and dependency.

By Ekaterina Blinova Sputnik 11.06.2023

A senior FBI official charged with executing the raid on former President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago last year has raised a red flag about abnormalities and apparent violations in the Justice Departments handling of the case.

Former Assistant Director of the FBIs Washington Field Office (WFO) Steven DAntuono has reached out to the US Congress citing concerns and frustration with the manner President Joe Bidens Department of Justice arranged the August 2022 raid of former President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago home.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan unveiled the damning testimony earlier this week and sent a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding answers.

First, DAntuono, who had two decades of FBI experience, drew attention to the fact that the bureaus headquarters made the decision to assign the execution of the search warrant in Trumps Miami residence to the Washington Field Office. As per DAntuono, it looked strange given that the search occurred in the territory of the Miami Field Office, which should have been assigned with the task under the bureaus rules.

Second, the DoJ failed to assign a US Attorneys Office to the investigative matter of that magnitude which was unusual as per the FBI veteran. This triggered DAntuonos deep concerns as it was out of the ordinary. He noted that he never got a good answer from DoJ with regard to this decision.

Third, the FBI did not first seek consent to effectuate the search. DAntuono recalled that at the meeting between FBI and DoJ officials, the Department of Justice pushed the bureau to execute the search warrant as quickly as possible. Referring to his experience, the FBI veteran underscored that the agency should have sought consent to search the premises prior to the raid. DAntuono suggested that either AG Garland or FBI Director Christopher Wray made the decision to seek a search warrant despite opposition from the agents working on the case in the WFO. DAntuono pointed out that there was a good likelihood that [Trumps legal team] could have given consent.

Fourth, the FBI refused to wait for Trumps attorney to be present before the raid, as per DAntuono. The bureau veteran claimed that the FBI sought to exclude Trumps lawyers from the search, which again sounded an alarm for the senior officer.

The FBI veterans testimony has prompted US Republican lawmakers to make a repeated request for bureau documents and information concerning the raid. In his latest let...

The Australian Newspapers Liam Mendes tried to get the mean girl Minister Katy Gallagher to answer a crucial question about Higgins. She demonstrates what a piece of work she really is. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was defiant and all but silent as she flew into a Canberra firestorm over her...

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (6/11/23).
As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth is, or claiming they have the answer, is likely leading you astray, for one reason or another. Stay Vigilant.
(https://www.rokfin.com/TLAVagabond)(https://www.bitchute.com/channel/24yVcta8zEjY/)

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Video Source Links (In Chronological Order)



(86) Stephen Horn on Twitter: "@CollinRugg When this video was first leaked in March, here's the thread I put together with the history of what we know about these Metropolitan Police Officers https://t.co/TH8aJ9kXFL" / Twitter
JANUARY 6 CARE PACKAGE
Plainclothes cops at Capitol during Jan. 6 riot, one on video exhorting crowd, key lawmaker says | Just The News
The British Imperial Hand Behind Russiagate and Global Governance Exposed Again
John F Kennedy Broke the Rules of the Zero Sum Game. Will his nephew learn how this was done?
New Tab
(57) Vincent Kennedy on Twitter: "Kennedy laying it all out there. https://t.co/nWLOT4CufO" / Twitter
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) | Endocrine Society
Endocrine Disruptors
...

In the face of increasing global environmental concerns, air quality remains a paramount issue, both outdoors and inside our homes and offices. Recent studies by the Environmental Protection Agency suggest that indoor air pollutants are often two to five times higher than outdoor levels. These indoor air contaminants can lead to a host of health issues, including allergies, respiratory problems, and even chronic diseases such as cancer. Thankfully, research shows that nature might offer a solution to this mounting problem.

Plant-Powered Air Purification

A team of scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in Australia recently published a fascinating study on the potential of indoor plants to purify the air. The research, funded by plant-scaping company Ambius, discovered that certain plants within a vertical wall system were capable of absorbing harmful compounds found in petrol vapors. These toxins, known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs, are often present in public spaces such as offices, hospitals, and classrooms.

During an average workday, the experimental setup demonstrated that the plants could reduce the concentration of several notorious carcinogenic compounds to less than 20% of their original levels. The implications of this discovery for improving indoor air quality are immense, potentially offering an eco-friendly alternative to energy-intensive ventilation systems.

Assessing the Efficacy of Plant Purifiers

Although similar research has previously been conducted on the ability of plants to absorb VOCs, most studies assessed the removal of single chemical species under controlled conditions. In contrast, the UTS team...

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, June 11, 2023

For any given war, one can examine the months or years or decades during which one or both sides worked diligently to make it happen, and both sides conspicuously failed to develop peaceful alternatives. Even in the moment of greatest violence, one can consider the unarmed-resistance alternatives that are carefully kept out of consideration.

But even if you can explain away all justification for every side of every particular war yes, even that one, there remains the false claim that war is somehow simply part of humanity. If ants were to stop waging wars, nobody would bat an eye, but such a feat is deemed simply beyond the intelligence of homo sapiens.

There is a problem for this nonsense. It is the problem of peaceful human societies. We know that many, if not most, hunter-gatherer groups of humans engaged for the vast bulk of human existence in nothing resembling low-tech war. Even in recent millennia, much of Australia, the Arctic, Northeast Mexico, the Great Basin of North America, and even Europe before the rise of patriarchic warrior cultures, did largely or entirely without war. Recent examples abound. In 1614 Japan cut itself off from the West and from major warfare until 1853 when the U.S. Navy forced its way in. During such periods of peace, culture flourishes. The colony of Pennsylvania for a time chose to respect the native peoples, at least in comparison with other colonies, and it knew peace and prospered. The notion held by celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson that because 17th century Europe invested in science by investing in warfare therefore only through militarism can any culture advance, and therefore conveniently enough astrophysicists are 100% justified in working for the Pentagon, is a view based on an absurd level of blinkered prejudice that few liberals would accept if duplicated in explicitly racist or sexist terms.

But simply to assert, or even indisputably prove, that various societies have liv...

Cullen McCue Trending Politics News June 10, 2023

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) has sent a letter to law enforcement agencies demanding answers on undercover police activity on January 6. The congressman cited an authenticated GoPro video that shows at least one undercover officer urging protesters to climb barriers and enter the Capitol building.

In an interview with Just The News, Loudermilk confirmed the authenticity of a GoPro video released this past March in which at least one undercover D.C. Metropolitan Police officer can be seen instigating illegal activity. We know that it is one of their officers and at one point he is encouraging, and it appears hes encouraging, hes definitely helping people climb the scaffolding, and hes telling them go, go, go, Loudermilk told the Just the News.

Why is an officer encouraging people to climb the scaffolding and go into the Capitol? And secondly, why did the MPD Metropolitan Police support department decide to put undercover officers in the crowd? Was there intelligence that they had that was or was not passed on to the Capitol Police and what did the Capitol police do with that evidence, if they got it? he added.

The shocking footage shows a plainclothes MPD officer climbing construction scaffolding while encouraging other protesters to do the same. He also yelled go, go, go and keep moving as protesters stood on a ledge outside the Capitol pavilion, urging them to move forward towards the building.

The footage was obtained after January 6 defendant William Pope of Topeka, Kansas filed a motion on February 21. While my descriptions of the undercover MPD officers are accurate, the media and the public should not have to rely on my descriptions alone, Pope wrote.

It is in the interests of justice that this exhibit in support of my motion be seen by all.

BREAKING

Undercover @DCPoliceDept Officer body camera from Jan 6 shows:

DC Metro performed illegal acts:

-Crossed restricted lines
-Encouraged crowd to go into Capitol grounds, climb scaffolding
-Solicited help to climb scaffolding
-Joined crowd in cheers to rush Capitol pic.twitter.com/Kxhr7x0THu

NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) March 25, 2023

...

AI may be threatening some jobs, but its going to improve a lot of others.

We get it: The unknown is a little scary. Although AI has been around for decades, the meteoric rise of ChatGPT has changed the conversation around whether we will lose our jobs to robots. The answer is . . . complicated.

Read Full Story

I guess its just one of those months where I didnt save links for this roundup.  Nonetheless, I will plug the Ace Journal Clubs discussion about why low sexual desire is considered a mental disorder.  And I have a single link:

Why Do You Always Kill Gods in JRPGs? | Moon Channel (video, 1:31 hours) The short answer is that the evil god is capitalism.  This is a great video essay about the history of Japan, and how its interpreted through the metaphors of Japanese mythology.  Through this lens, Japanese history is a sequence of false gods, each rising and fallingfrom the Shogunate to Christianity to state Shinto, and now capitalism.  The game isnt mentioned in the video, but it finally makes sense to me why Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is about a bunch of old immortals feeding on the life force of a populace doomed to die youngalthough I suppose that same story could have been written from an American perspective as well.