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Fri, 05 Nov 2021
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FDA medical adviser: 'Congress is owned by pharma'

congress
Given the state of things now, it's easy to lose hope. But then you get someone willing to speak out and the glimmer of hope comes back. There is obviously no guarantee that anything will happen, but the small spark of someone willing to speak truth is often just enough to start a fire.
"Dr. Raeford Brown, a pediatric anesthesia specialist at the UK Kentucky Children's Hospital and chair of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Committee on Analgesics and Anesthetics, has been openly critical of big pharma and the lack of proper oversight from the FDA.

Despite many politicians, particularly declared presidential candidates, beginning to speak out against big pharma, Brown does not think that anything will come out of it 'because Congress is owned by pharma.'

'The pharmaceutical industry pours millions of dollars into the legislative branch every single year,' he told Yahoo Finance. 'In 2016, they put $100 million into the elections. That's a ton of money.'"1

Comment: Who spends the most dollars lobbying Washington, DC?
Oil? Financials? Aerospace? When someone asks who the biggest sources of lobby dollars for DC's politicians-for-purchase are, these are the three usual suspects that come to mind. Some may, therefore, be surprised to learn according to the database kept by OpenSecrets between Pharmaceutical and health product industry, hospital and nursing homes, health professionals and health services, HMOs, or more broadly Pharma/Healthcare/HMO, the total lobby dollars spent between 1998 and 2012 was a staggering $5.3 billion, or nearly three times greater than the second most generous industry: insurance, and well above Oil and Gas at $1.4 billion, and Securities and Investment at $1.0 billion. Is it becoming clearer why the US government has few qualms about unsustainable taxpayer funded healthcare spending, especially when there are so many current benefits accruing to the politicians who see so many billions in benefits from passing lobby-friendly laws now (by which we mean generous taxpayer funding, the bulk of which benefits the healthcare industry's bottom line)?



Popcorn

How Russian sanctions expose cracks in Britain's political class

may putin browder
Bill Browder was invited to the Foreign Affairs public session in February so that he could promote his well-polished narrative of malign influence, human rights abuses and aggression by the Kremlin. This will be used to help frame British sanctions policy towards Russia. But two weeks later, the grilling of Gregory Barker on his role in overcoming the sanctions against Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska - reveals an emerging rift in the British establishment over Russian sanctions.

The Western establishment loves Russian money. Russian treasures, including state assets, were bought at basement-bucket prices through Yeltsin's loans-for-shares programme. It is claimed that opportunists such as Mikhail Kordokhovsky made money by rigging auctions of state assets, paying a fraction of the value, then passing the proceeds to offshore shell companies. Money made through individuals such as Kordokhovsky and other championed 'capitalists' of Russia, eventually made its way back into Europe and London. When Vladimir Putin first came to power in 1999, UK leaders Tony Blair and David Cameron rode the wave of opportunity that Russia was open to business, and yachting with oligarchs or taking large party donations were just perks of the time. All types of Russian money seemed welcome.

Comment: The Western establishment is lashing out with sanctions and smear campaigns in an attempt to stomp out the emerging multi-polar world, of which Russia is a major player, but its hypocrisy and desperation is only hastening its demise: And for more, check out SOTT radio's:


Snakes in Suits

Aussie right-wing politician Fraser Anning blames Muslims for New Zealand shootings

Fraser Anning

Fraser Anning
An Australian senator is being heavily criticized for lashing out at Muslim immigrants in the wake of the horrific shootings at two New Zealand mosques.

Queensland Senator Fraser Anning released a media statement on Friday afternoon, hours after the terrorist attacks at two Christchurch mosques. In it, Anning claimed while he was "utterly opposed to any form of violence" and condemned the actions of the gunman, he said the atrocity highlighted the "growing fear over an increasing Muslim presence" in Australia and New Zealand.

"While this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence."

Comment: And his well-deserved response:




Russian Flag

'US must abandon its arrogance': Moscow skeptical over Bolton's newfound desire for 'arms control talks'

John Bolton
© Reuters / Leah Millis
US National Security Advisor, John Bolton
Any talks with the US are bound to fail until Washington gives up on its arrogance and trying to do things on own terms only, a top Russian senator said after fresh arms control remarks by US national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton expressed concerns over the growing nuclear potential of Beijing, telling AM 970 radio on Sunday that "if we're going to have another arms control negotiation, for example, with the Russians, it may make sense to include China that discussion as well."

"Washington is still planning to talk to China, Russia and North Korea arrogantly and on its own terms," Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Russian Federal Council, responded.

Bad Guys

New reports connect George Soros' Open Society to 'Trump Dossier'

SOROS

George Soros
The secrets to the deep state coup to prevent Donald Trump from winning the 2016 election and then to overthrow his government are slowly being revealed. To no one's surprise the plot leads back to DNC billionaire donor and anti-American activist George Soros.

George Soros was interviewed years ago on CBS's 60 Minutes where he admitted helping Nazi's during World War II steal from Jews during the war. Soros is Jewish. He was not apologetic.

Soros was also reportedly behind the airport protests in the US shortly after President Trump's inauguration. A week before that Soros was reportedly behind 50 Groups involved in the 'Women's March the day after the inauguration. Before that, Soros was connected to the groups demanding election recounts after the November 8th election and Soros money was funding more protests during these efforts.

Blackbox

Trump's mysterious inconsistent inconsistencies

trump waves
Unlike the American Democratic Party, the Western news media and most of my neighbours, I do not fully understand Trump. Although, unlike all of them, I thought from the start he had a good chance of winning and, as time went on, became more confident and finally bet he would win.

One of the consistent themes of Trump's campaign was that foreign entanglements were not to the country's advantage and the wars were a waste of resources; bad for business, as it were. Now, I'm not so simple-minded as to believe campaigning politicians. Bush promised a quieter foreign policy and Obama was going to close Guantánamo; but what made me pay attention to Trump's statements was that they weren't just the disconnected laundry list of focus-groups handed out by most politicians, they had an internal consistency. (And consistent over quite some time: watch this interview from 1987.)

That consistency could be found in his slogan Make America Great Again. It was the "again" that was the clue. Shattered tells us that Bill Clinton tried to get his wife to perceive the dissatisfaction in the USA, Sanders tapped into some of it but Trump saw and understood it early and based his campaign on it; Clinton never understood. Again, that's the clue. I concluded that Trump saw a connection between the loss of "greatness" and the foreign entanglements: the "six trillion dollars" spent in the Middle East would have been better spent on infrastructure". Of course he was right: there is a direct connection. But to stop that drain, Trump, now President, has to break the entanglements and that will not be easy. Last year I formed the theory that he would try to get the allies to break these entanglements and updated the idea recently. (It was written just before we heard that Trump is considering to charging allies 150% for the cost of US bases - something that is sure to cause a lot of re-thinking and disentangling.)

Comment: It is a curious thing and remains to be seen if Trump is really simply 'enabling' them to be their own demise. Although, in order for that to be case, Trump would have to be willing to go down with the ship as well. See also: Trump's brilliant strategy: Dismember US dollar hegemony


Propaganda

Nothing new: Washington autopsy files reveal RT founder Lesin sustained broken bone in neck

Mikhail Lesin
© Alexander Natruskin / Reuters
Mikhail Lesin was the mass media expert credited with inspiring the creation of Russia Today (now RT)
Mikhail Lesin, the former Russian press minister who turned up dead in a Washington hotel room in 2015, sustained a fracture to a neck bone just below the jaw line "at or near the time" of his death, according to documents released by the city's medical examiner that provide new details about his final days.

The finding does not provide clear-cut evidence of foul play in Lesin's death; another statement in the documents suggests the bone could have been damaged "after death" -- possibly during the autopsy.

Bomb

12 Huge bombshells in one week - but, "nothing's happening?"

corrupt capital
Twelve HUGE, damning bombshells dropped this week, spinning this storm into high gear. From the Lisa Page transcripts to McCain's connection to the dossier, a grand jury investigation into Facebook, massive NXIVM updates, Jeffrey Epstein back on the chopping block, and Andrew Weisman leaving special counsel. And, while Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was preparing her audition for her role as a congresswoman for New York, Paul Ryan was sabotaging democrat subpoenas. Meanwhile, Hollywood's being sliced and diced for paying off colleges and Ivy League Schools to get their children admitted. Of course, this is only the beginning of investigations into nefarious actions taking place in the upper echelons of colleges, and it's safe to say, politicians will surely make the list.

Who could forget the terrorist training camp discovered in New Mexico last year, where they had loads of guns and ammunition, along with a deceased child? The court dismissed three of the five, creating one hell of a stir in this country. Now, there is a superseding indictment charging all five with conspiracy to attack and kill officers and employees of the United States, along with multiple other charges.

While Congressman Jim Jordan was busy calling out Adam Schiff in a twitter frenzy this week, the Democrats, along with 12 Republicans voted to block the President's emergency at the southern border, which Trump immediately vetoed the following day, in his first veto as President.

But, "nothing's happening," right? Buckle up - this party is just getting started.

Quenelle - Golden

Macron goes SKIING as Paris burns (again) during EIGHTEENTH straight weekend of Yellow Vest uprising

macron skiing
© DDM, Laurent Dard
Emmanuel Macron on the slopes of La Mongie ski resort in the Pyrenees this weekend
The art of timing, as demonstrated by Emmanuel Macron: With violence raging on the streets, the President of the Republic and his wife Brigitte decided to spend the weekend at the station of La Mongie (Haute-Pyrenees), reported La Depeche and France 3.

But according to BFMTV, the head of state will return sooner to face the crisis, as criticism mounts against Macron for insensitive to the ongoing protests.

The presidential couple has just returned from a trip to Kenya. But they were seen on Friday, March 15, by skiers, on the slopes and lifts. The press was kept away from the couple by the security services.

The president skied all morning, before stopping at l'Etape du Berger meeting one of his childhood friends, Eric Abadie. "I will spend two or three days here to recharge my batteries, to find landscapes and friendly faces," he told La Depeche. "You have to know where you come from. I am happy to see the Pyrenees like that, radiant, although I know it was difficult at Christmas. But there are people here, and Eric is an example, people who want to make things happen," he continued before returning to the slopes.

Bad Guys

Trump's muddled Middle East tactics pushing Assad and Erdogan into an alliance

Trump Erdogan
© Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
President Donald J. Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey at the United Nations General Assembly
Trump's foreign policy gambles in the Middle East just continue to shake the region up, causing confusion, betrayal and, more recently, a new arms race which is all heading towards more bloodshed there, as ISIS appears to be in decline and Russia, Iran and Turkey continue to look like stronger players.

Despite Iran sanctions, Tehran continues to show its strength in its sheer resilience and its brash cavalier attitude towards other countries in the region; barely days after if foreign minister resigns - but then withdraws it - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani takes a trip to Iraq, to remind the Americans that Tehran still wields considerable power and influence there, as well as Syria, Lebanon and also Qatar and Turkey.

Comment: War does indeed make strange and ever-shifting bedfellows.