Society's Child
© HGL/ Getty
A string of MPs and doctors are calling for urgent reform after Billy Caldwell suffered his first seizure in 300 days after he ran out of cannabis-oil supplies.
His "anti-epileptic medicine" was confiscated from his mother, Charlotte, when she tried to bring it through Heathrow Airport on her return from Canada.
There has been widespread outrage over what has been described as 'the signing of Billy's death warrant' by the UK authorities. An all-parliamentary group has now come together to renew a previous pledge to reform policies.
What is Alternative Media?
Alternative media are forms of media that differ from the current established mainstream, whether it be by content, format, or distribution. Alternative media can be print, digital, audio, video, and so on.
In today's society, anyone can have a platform from the comfort of their own homes, a luxury that was not available before the internet and modern technology. This is a huge benefit, because more people can research news that is important to them without being corrupt, and then spread the word. However, it also leads to an overflow of information, not all of which is high quality.
So you're ready to dive into the exciting, albeit oversaturated, world of alternative media, what sources should you start with?
To help answer this question, I put together a list of my top 10 alternative media sources, with plenty of formats for however you like to digest your news.
Comment: Well, we'll just have to work a little harder!
They're an easy target
The author is the founder and editor of the Unz Review, a conservative American political website, an entrepreneur, and a one-time candidate for the governor of California.
This article was originally published in October 2016 at the Unz Review.
A couple of years ago, I launched my Unz Review, providing a wide range of different alternative perspectives, the vast majority of them totally excluded from the mainstream media. I've also published a number of articles in my own American Pravda series, focusing on the suspicious lapses and lacunae in our media narratives.
The underlying political strategy behind these efforts may already be apparent, and I've sometimes suggested it here and there. But I finally decided I might as well explicitly outline the reasoning in a memo as provided below.
Many of the politicians, mainstream media pundits, and students who call for stricter gun control laws insist that they are only seeking "common sense" gun legislation. But in reality, the real issues that lead to mass shootings are being ignored and the rhetoric that is being shared in the name of "safety," is instead chipping away at the Second Amendment, and in some cases, pushing to repeal it altogether.
1. The mainstream media is openly calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment
It is no secret that every time there are reports of a mass shooting, there are a number of politicians who openly call for gun control, but there has recently been an increase in media outlets joining the anti-gun bandwagon. The Miami Herald published an Op-Ed titled, "Repeal The Second Amendment-It's Not A Crazy Idea." Rolling Stone published an explanation on "Why It's Time To Repeal The Second Amendment." And USA Today stated, "Repeal The Second Amendment. It's The Only Way Towards Real Change."
© Reuters
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015.
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015.
Local sources told Syria's SANA news agency that the warplanes of the international coalition raided a school in the village of Khoibra, southeast of al-Shadadi, claiming the lives of 18 civilians, most of them are Iraqi refugees who fled from criminal acts of Islamic State and the coalition's bombing.
Comment: A school in a village full of civlians. Does that sound like a terrorist target? But killing civilians is business as usual for the US coalition. See what they did in Raqqa:
'They bombed trapped civilians': Amnesty International's damning report on UK, US, France destruction in Raqqa
© Reuters
An Iraqi official carries a ballot box, after a fire at a storage site in Baghdad on June 10.
An Iraqi official carries a ballot box, after a fire at a storage site in Baghdad on June 10.
The June 11 report said the suspects included three police officers and an employee of Iraq's elections commission.
The June 10 blaze destroyed a warehouse containing ballots from Baghdad's Al-Rusafa district, ahead of a recount of votes cast during the country's legislative elections last month.
Authorities said the ballot boxes were saved, but a member of Baghdad's provincial council said that "all the boxes and papers have burned."
"There is no doubt that it was a deliberate act and I am personally following up on the investigation with the criminal police and the committee tasked with probing the fire," Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji said.
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi described the fire as a "plot" aimed at undermining Iraq's democracy.
Amid allegations of widespread fraud, Iraq's parliament last week ordered a manual recount of some 10 million votes cast during the May 12 polls, which were won by an alliance headed by Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
© Mohamad Torokman / Reuters
Mourners pray during the funeral of Mahmoud Badran
Mourners pray during the funeral of Mahmoud Badran
In June 2016, Israeli forces shot and killed 15-year-old Mahmoud Raafat Badran after "showering" a car on Route 443, a major West Bank highway, with live fire. Four other Palestinian teens, who were returning from a nearby swimming pool, were also injured in the incident, which unfolded as the IDF tried to quell Palestinian youths in the vicinity but "misidentified" the suspects' vehicle. The four injured were Mahmoud's two brothers - 16-year-old Amir and 17-year-old Hadi - as well as Daoud Abu Hassan, 16, and Majdi Badran, 16.
Following a comprehensive investigation into the incident, the Military Advocate General ordered the closure of the probe, admitting that the IDF had mistakenly identified the teens as a group of Palestinian youths who had earlier assaulted Israeli cars with stones and Molotov cocktails.
"The commander of the unit misidentified the car in which the terrorists were traveling, firing at the wheels," the army said. "A short while after the shooting, the mistake became known and medical treatment was given to the wounded."
While noting there were "professional failings" during the incident, the Advocate General found opening fire on the car was justified and the mistake was "earnest and reasonable."
Comment: Yep, another "mistake". Funny how often the IDF mistakenly kills innocent civilians. Either the IDF is the most moral (and incompetent) army in the world, or the competently immoral. You decide. Shouldn't be very difficult.
© Reuters: Mads Claus Rasmussen
Although couched in anodyne terms, the law is really aimed at the burka and niqab as revealed by its legislative history and parliamentary intent.
Given the trivial number of women who wear the burka in Denmark (in the low hundreds), what is really animating this costly exercise in lawmaking?
The Justice Minister, Søren Pape Poulsen, claimed that covering one's face in public is "incompatible with the values in Danish society", and "disrespectful" to others.
What exactly are these Danish values? What about the laws being disrespectful of the basic individual liberty of a person's right to wear clothes of their choice?
Comment: What about laws requiring people to be clothed being disrespectful to the basic individual liberty of a person's right to wear no clothing? Societies have customs. If you don't like them, you're free to be naked in your house, or wear a burka in your house.
The Justice Minister claimed he did "not want police officers pulling items of clothing off people - burkas or otherwise," and that, "if they live nearby, they will be asked to go home".
Comment: If they don't like it, maybe they can go live where it is considered normal?
© Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Pope Francis and Bishop Juam Barros
Pope Francis and Bishop Juam Barros
In his continuing efforts to show he has grasped the extent of the Catholic church's sexual abuse scandal, and intends to deal with those embroiled in it as perpetrators or colluders, Francis accepted the resignations on Monday of Juan Barros, as well as his fellow bishops Gonzalo Duarte and Cristián Caro.
They were among 34 Chilean bishops who offered to resign last month after Francis said the country's religious hierarchy was collectively responsible for "grave defects" in handling sexual abuse cases and the church's resulting loss of credibility.
Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor who has been a vocal critic of Barros and repeatedly called on the Vatican to take action, said: "A new day has begun in Chile's Catholic church.
Comment: The UK government, and some of its MPs who have investments in these firms, with their monopoly on cannabis production are gradually being exposed as hypocrites with obvious conflicts of interest who are depriving patients of life-saving medications:
- UK's unscientific cannabis laws causing more harm than ever
- Irish govt permits special license for medicinal cannabis oil (CBD) to girl suffering from severe form of epilepsy
- "One of the most valuable medicines we possess": The Victorian doctor who promoted medical marijuana
Also check out SOTT radio's: The Health & Wellness Show: The Highs and Lows of Cannabis as Medicine