Category: Corruption

When Ideas Become Too Dangerous to Platform

Professor Gigi Foster delivered a TEDx talk titled The Manipulators’ Playbook at the University of New South Wales in 2024. It was an examination of how, in times of crisis, fear and conformity can be deliberately harnessed by those in power to manipulate public behaviour. Her message was a call to defend the freedom to question authority and think independently. The local TEDxUNSW team had worked closely with Foster to ensure her talk met TEDx standards. ”But when the video was submitted to TED’s US headquarters for publication on YouTube, it was rejected. Across the digital landscape, we’re witnessing a broader pattern…

The Manipulators’ Playbook – Gigi Foster

Video: TedX talk by Gigi Foster in Australia, October 2024

Chinese researchers charged with smuggling plant pathogen into the US

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with smuggling a plant pathogen into the US for research at a University of Michigan laboratory, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on 3 June. The couple has also been charged with making false statements and visa fraud. They were arrested in connection with allegations related to secretly transporting the fungus Fusarium graminearum, which federal prosecutors claim is classified in the scientific literature as ‘a potential agroterrorism weapon’, although experts Chemistry World spoke to…

Former Franklin County Jail Deputy Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation

A former Franklin County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, today to depriving an inmate of his civil rights. Matthew Carey, 28, of Grove City, admitted to depriving an individual of their right to be free from a deputy’s deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm, while acting under color of law. According to court documents, in March 2022, Carey intentionally disclosed a pretrial detainee’s pending charge of rape of a minor to Gmier…

US decision to sanction ICC judges ‘deeply corrosive’ to justice: UN rights chief

Mr. Türk was responding to an announcement by Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, on Thursday, of measures targeting the judges, who are overseeing a 2020 case of alleged war crime committed in Afghanistan by US and Afghan military forces, and the 2024 ICC arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former Defence Minister. “I am profoundly disturbed by the decision of the Government of the United States of America to sanction judges…

Non-hallucinogenic psychedelics

Attitudes towards psychedelics are evolving, with growing evidence supporting their potential to treat a range of mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. In 2023, Australia became the first country in the world to approve psychedelics to treat specific mental health conditions. A handful of other countries are also moving in that direction. Drugs such as LSD and psilocybin stimulate neurons to grow new branches and make more synaptic connections, which is thought to be behind…

Did the Feds Label You a Covid “Violent Extremist?”

Biden administration policy-makers hated you more than you knew. From the start of the Covid pandemic, I warned that the feds were vilifying anyone who failed to kowtow to the latest commands. In October 2023, I wrote: “Federal bureaucrats heaved together a bunch of letters to contrive an ominous new acronym for the latest peril to domestic tranquility. The result: AGAAVE—’anti-government, anti-authority violent extremism’—which looks like a typo for a sugar substitute. The FBI vastly expanded the supposed AGAAVE peril by…

DOJ in talks to drop criminal prosecution against Boeing 

The United States Department of Justice is in talks to drop a criminal prosecution against Boeing (BOE, Washington National) stemming from two fatal B737 MAX crashes, according to a May 18 court filing. Instead, the DOJ says the matter is likely to be resolved through a settlement that will not result in a criminal conviction. Multiple outlets reported on a May 16 meeting between the DOJ and law firms representing some of the 346 people killed in the crashes in 2018 and 2019. Boeing faces…

Former Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Tax Crimes

A former defense contractor pleaded guilty today to tax crimes related to his scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on income that he earned from his contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Douglas Edelman founded and owned 50% of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star), a defense contracting business that received more than $7 billion from contracts with the U.S. Department of…

“History of Racism” page missing from Harvard’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging department site

As archived here. History of Racism Louis Agassiz Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) was a Swiss-born natural scientist, a professor of zoology and geology in the predecessor of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a prominent supporter of racial segregation and white supremacy. Agassiz was educated and spent his early career in Western Europe (Irmscher, 2013, p. 41-84). He began his scientific career cataloguing fish fossils, work for which he would later win the Wollaston Medal, the proto-Nobel Prize (Irmscher,…

Video: Bodies of eight missing paramedics found in Gaza mass grave

The Palestine Red Crescent says it’s located the bodies of eight of the nine paramedics who went missing about a week ago. The medics had been surrounded by Israeli forces while responding to the scene of an attack in Rafah. Gaza’s Health Ministry says their bodies had been discovered in a hole, and that some were bound and had gunshot wounds to the chest. Mads Gilbert, professor of Emergency Medicine at Norway’s University of Tromso weighs in.

Telegram Accused of Removing Popular News Channel at Russia’s Request

The messaging app Telegram is facing censorship accusations after reportedly removing a popular Russian news channel whose alleged owners face criminal prosecution inside Russia. VChK-OGPU, an anonymously run channel claiming to share insider information from Russia’s security and law enforcement agencies, had 1.1 million subscribers when it was taken down overnight Monday. On a backup Telegram channel, VChK-OGPU’s owners wrote that the removal came at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and state media watchdog Roskomnadzor….

UK MPs barred from entering Israel

Two pro-Palestinian British MPs were denied entry to Israel and subsequently deported after local authorities accused them of misrepresenting the nature of their visit and planning to promote campaigns targeting the state. Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, both members of the governing Labour Party, landed in Tel Aviv at 2:30pm local time on Saturday, accompanied by two aides. During questioning at Ben Gurion Airport, they told border officers they were part of an official UK parliamentary delegation – a claim…

Jeep & Chrysler parent Stellantis lays off 900 US workers as tariffs bite

In sum:

Stellantis pauses production in Mexico and Canada due to tariffs
Automakers face 25% import tax on imported autos
UAW criticizes Stellantis for unnecessary layoffs
US automaker shares fall sharply

South Korea Removes Its Impeached President and Regains Direction

South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol has been removed from office, four months after his shortlived attempt to impose martial law sparked a prolonged political crisis. The Constitutional Court on Friday announced in a unanimous verdict that it would uphold parliament’s vote to impeach Yoon last year over his failed power grab, stripping him of office and ending his presidency less than three years into his five-year term. A presidential election will be held within 60 days. Han Duck-soo, a…

Loomer’s relationship with Trump: 3 National Security staff fired

Far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer reportedly made sure three National Security Council staff members were fired, as Loomer considered them disloyal. She communicated this opinion to Donald Trump in a brief White House meeting Wednesday. Laura Loomer is not a new name in MAGA circle. She was frequently seen with the president ahead of the election. Her extreme statements against Kamala Harris spelt trouble for the Donald Trump campaign and she was apparently sidelined, but the three recent…